48 [February, 1907. 



June) in moles nine times, crows Lhrice, rats twice, and once each in rabbit, weasel, 

 stoat, pigeon, cod, " bird " and in Berks, on kestrel; D. vulpinus is much rarer 

 and only four times observed, in August and September, in crows and a calf. The 

 Nitidulie and Omositx, too, prefer the feast when the carcase has become desiccated, 

 when N. brpustulata is always common from March to May, though found in no 

 other month, on seventeen occasions in rats, moles, cro«s, hedgehog, pigeon, jay 

 and in Berks, on kestrel ; N. 4:-puNtulata is rarer and seems to affect the seashore 

 where it has occurred in fish and a gull in July, as well as inland in pigeon in June 

 and calf in September ; N. rufipes has only occurred to me singly in dog, sheep, 

 fish, calf and stoat in March, May, July and September, except early in June, 1902, 

 when it was common in a horse-skin. Of the second genus, Omosita colon is 

 slightly the commoner species (with twelve appearances against nine) and is found 

 from April to August in moles, rats, rabbit, dogs, rook, owl, fish, horse and at 

 Eastbourne in sheep's head ; 0. discoidea appears to extend from April only to 

 June, in mole, rabbit, dogs, crows, hedgehog and horse. Pthius fur is the only 

 hair-eating species I have seen actually on carrion ; one $ and four ? $ were 

 beaten from suspended weasels at the end of March, 1891. 



The foregoing enumeration leaves but thirty-seven species of (/3) genuine flesh- 

 eating burying beetles captured in the course of ten years. One is inclined to 

 regret thei-e is no comparative list of the same creatures in the old days of fat, 

 sleek wolves and unharassed foxes, who only gutted half they killed ; even a note 

 on the subject by Mouffet in 1634 might have helped us to some compai'ative 

 estimate of the destruction to these, our friends, wrought by remorseless civilization. 

 The seven kinds of Aleochara that have been found were certainly in their element 

 in carrion, especially A. fuscipes, which was noted on sixteen occasions, usually in 

 April and May, though it extends thence to September 28th ; it occurred four 

 times in rats, five in rabbits, thrice in moles, and once in spari-ow-hawk, hedgehog, 

 pigeon and fish. A. lanuginosa put in but five appearances in March, thrice in 

 April and in September, in rat, dog, rabbit and two crows ; A. nitida has been 

 slightly less common in crow in April, fish in July, " bird " in August and calf in 

 September ; while A. succicola was thrice seen in owl in April, crow in August and 

 rabbit in September. The three remaining species are much rarer both here and in 

 other situations ; one A. hipunctata was in a " bird " early in August ; A. lata in 

 hedgehog in May and rat in September; and A. morion once in a rook at the 

 beginning of May. Some species of Tachhius, Creophilus, Leistotrophus and 

 Staphylinus must, I think, be regarded as true carrion feeders, though sometimes 

 found in hotbeds, dung and decaying vegetable matter ; at least T. humeralis, 

 witli three occurrences in rabbits, one in crow and one in pigeon in April and May, 

 as well as T. subterraneu.t in mole, pigeon and two rabbits, should be placed here ; 

 the latter is found in February, April, June and September. C. maxillosus has six 

 appearances, all in April and May, preferring larger animals, sheep and dog, though 

 also sometimes in rats, rabbit and pigeon. L. murinus was common in a foal at 

 Brockenhurst in May, 1895 ; I have taken it from hedgehog in the same month. 

 S. stercorarius has only occurred once, in a rabbit in the middle of September. 

 Only three Philonthi are of frequent occuiTcnce, and of these P. seneus has 

 appeared a dozen times, P. cephalotes six and P. marginatus thrice ; the first is 

 abundant in March and April and twice in September, four times in rats, twice each 



