Vol. XXX] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 253 



Life History and Habits of Silpha inaequalis Fab. 



(Coleoptera). 



By MILTON T. GOE, Portland, Oregon. 



On July i6th while strolling in a secluded place, my object 

 being to secure some live insects for life history observations, 

 1 discovered the carcass of a cat, under or near which were 

 many kinds of beetles that gather around decaying animal mat- 

 ter. From among these I secured a few live specimens of 

 Silpha inaequalis which I took home and placed in wide- 

 mouthed tobacco jars containing- a couple of inches of fresh 

 moist soil, a few dry leaves beneath which they could hide, a 

 shallow vessel of water, and a small piece of beef. The jars 

 were then covered with a tin cover, the center of which had 

 been cut away and a piece of cheese-cloth glued over the open- 

 ing so as to admit plenty of air. 



Two pairs were kept for study, but as one female laid but 

 one batch of eggs and as both male and female soon died the 

 data here given are from a single pair. 



Freshly-killed flies were often thrown into the jar and were 

 eaten by the beetles in preference to the stale meat. They 

 sometimes dug themselves into the soil but remained on top 

 most of the time, often hiding under the leaves, seldom under 

 the stale meat. They were frequently found drinking. Close 

 watch was kept for eggs, and on the twentieth day of July 

 the first eggs were found and in the soil. As it is generally 

 stated that these insects deposit their egg's in the carcass, I 

 wish to emphasize the fact that these Silphas, without an ex- 

 ception, deposited their eggs in the soil. Only once did we 

 observe this female in the act of laying, and then she placed 

 the tip of her abdomen deep in the soil and when she had fin- 

 ished scratched the dirt back with her front tarsi to cover the 

 eggs more securely. 



The eggs arc white, almost round, and about two millimeters 

 in diameter. The egg-laving period covered thirty-six days 

 and she averaged a little less than two eggs per day. 



Following are the dates and the exact number of eggs laid 

 each day : 



