MINERS 53 



pilularia) of North America rolls its balls of dung 

 along to the shaft it has prepared for their reception, 

 where it deposits its eggs. These shafts are declared 

 by Catesby to be about three feet in depth. 



Our own Watchman, Clock or Dor Beetle (Geo- 

 trupes stercorarius), whose blundering, noisy flight is 

 so noticeable on summer evenings as to have gained 

 for it a true folk-name — a very unusual thing for 

 beetles to attain to — is also among the miners. 

 Having, by its acute sense of smell, received intelli- 

 gence of a fresh deposit of dung, she flies on strong 

 wings straight to the spot, and burrows into the 

 mass. She does not stop at the manure, but digs 

 straight into the earth below, forming a perpendicu- 

 lar shaft about a foot deep. Her fore legs are well 

 adapted for this work, for though they are provided 

 with weak feet, the tibia, like those of the Scarab, 

 are strong and toothed along the edge used for 

 burrowing. They are useful also for scraping to- 

 gether the dung which she drops down the shaft, 

 afterwards laying an egg upon it. The grub which 

 hatches out of the egg feeds upon this store. 



It has long been a subject for admiring wonder 

 that an insect that deals with clinging filth should 

 contrive, as the Watchman does, to keep its polished 

 armour so clean and bright. It is equally remark- 

 able that the hosts of soft-bodied mites that crowd 

 upon the underside of this and other species of 

 dung beetle manage to escape destruction and 

 retain their hold during these burrowing operations. 

 The smaller Lunar Dung Beetle (Geotrufes tyfheeus) 



