Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-07-05
IT WAS ONCE A GOD.
WHY THE TUMBLEBUG WAS WOR-
SHIPPED BY EGYPTIANS.


There Is found i'm every state of the I'm.
ion little insect that used to be god.
His history is Il wonderful account of ups
and downs. You would never guess from
his personal appearance that he was once
worshiped by human beings, for he is very
plain and modest looking He goes about
his daily toll in the most cheerful and
matter of fact way, seemingly more inter
ested in rearing heirs than in studying an
cestors He recks not that his name was
once sacred scarabwus of the Egyptians
Today he is plain Mr.. Tumblebug at your
service
But the tumblcbug is of great interest
in himself, leaving out all mention of his
history. This is an account of the peculiar
manner in which the Matching of the egg
is provided for. After being laid it is inn
mediately rolled up i'm ball of mud and
manure about the size of big marble
When the bah is thoroughly dried Mr. and
Mrs Tumblchug start it rolling in search
of some convenient place in which to bury
it. This place may not be fond for some
yards, and the ingenuity displayed in "navi-
eating it over that distance is far greater
than that shown by some human beings in
their chosen business.
In the first place the ball is round
This, of course, is the best form for roll
ing But even then the slightest Unequal
ity of the ground or even blade of grass
would present a serious obstacle OF course
if the tumblebug were rs big as "a mouse
he could carry the ball i'm his mouth; if he
were adapted for pushing, he could move
it in that way but unfortunately he is
neither In solving the problem in spite
of so many difficulties he illustrates the
old saying that there is more than one way
of killing cat
The method is this Mrs. Tumblebug
climbs up on top of the ball and gets good
and ready to move toward the front edge
so as to start it going Mr.. Z. stands on
his head behind, with front feet on the
ground, while the hind feet and the tip of
the abdomen are against the ball. When
all is ready, Mr.. T. gives the signal (sup-
posedly), Mrs. T. gives a lurch forward,
and, lol they're off Mrs. r. usually has
very bad luck Immediately after the start
for almost invariably she is carried to the
ground, and the ball rolls over her But
she is very good natured about it. She
doesn't get cross, or refuse to play any
more She just climbs out from under
shakes the dust out of her skirts, mounts
the ball again and is ready for another
start.
If down grade is encountered, the
work is so much the easier, although bugs
and ball will frequently land in heap at
the bottom. But when an up grade or IA
large obstacle intervones the trouble is
very great. In such a case tumblebugs
will do one of two things. They will either
desert the ball or go in search of help In
the former case, another family will fire.
quently happen along and take charge of
affairs, just as if the ball were their own.
In the latter case the neighbors always
turn out, if there are any such
If you handle tumblebugs while they
are at work they remain very quiet until
you are through, and then resume rolling
the ball Nothing seems to disturb them.
After the ball has fairly started, the
bugs frequently leave it, running around
without apparent reason. They are, how
ever, searching for good place of deposit
The hole in which it finally rests is several
inches and often foot or more in depth,
and in order that the bugs may be able to
excavate it the digging must be good
When the site is once chosen, queer
method of making the hole is resortcd to-
The way of rolling the ball is common
place compared to it You would natural
ly think that the bugs would first dig the
hole and then push the ball into it. No
such thing. They quite reverse this proc
ess One of the bugs gets under the ball
and digs with his hind legs, throwing the
dirt out around the edges. AS he gets
lower the ball sinks with him, and when
the hole is deep enough he digs his way
around the ball, which has followed him
all the way, and then pushes up through
the loose dirt to the surface What he does
for fresh air during this process is some
thing that no man can find out.
When the egg matches in its subterra-
mean abode the larvae feed on the material
of their envelope In course of time they
surround themselves with the same ma
terial, cemcnted together with gelati-
nous substance exuded from their bodies
and later emerge rs perfect insects The
ancient Romans esteemed the larvae of the
tumblebug as "A great delicacy They were
eaten after being fried delicate brown
Modern epicures have taken to snails.
The Egyptian variety of the tumble
bug, which is also found over Africa and
southern Europe is just the same as that
found in the United States except that it
is twice as large In shape, color and
habits it is identical Its shell is very
hard and the legs, particularly the hind
ones, are very strong This makes the in
sect well adapted for digging. The sense
of smell is wonderfully developed, and for
this reason the tumblebug is exceedingly
valuable in its particular work for man
kind 1t was created for a scavenger.
BY man this renowned insect has been
exempted from the humble lot of most of
its tribe. The ancient Egyptians consid-
cred it sacred and paid it divine honOrs
They represented it on temples, obelisks
and statues and inclosed it in collins with
the embalmed bodies of the dead. 1t was
a favorite deity, representing the sun. AS
typical of the lumnary which is the source
of light and heat it came likewise to be re-
garded rs the emblem of fertility, and it is
eaten by Egyptian women to this day I'M
der the idea that it is e1licacious.
1t is not difficult to see how the tumble
bug should come to represent the sun
The ball is rolled backward by the insect
just as the larger ball (the earth) is by the
sun. In its arduous and incessant labors
the tumblebug resembles the sun. Its six
legs have five joints each, or 80 in all
This is equal to the number of days the
sun remains in each sign of the zodiac
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