468 



THE INSECT WORLD. 



When seized, they disgorge a blackish Hquid. They introduce them- 

 selves under the skin of the carcases of animals, and devour their 





Fig, 451. — Dorcus Titan. 



flesh to the very bone. The larvae, flat and serrated, live hke thi 

 adults, in carrion. The commonest species is the Silpha obscura, c, 

 an intense black, delicately dotted. Two species found in Englani 

 and in the environs of Paris, Silpha quadripunctcUa and the Silph 



