88 [AprU, 



placed beneath some pine trees at the entrance of a " ride." The ground was 

 ideal for buiTOwing, being a loose humns of decaying pine-needles neither too 

 damp nor too dry. At first the take of Necrophori was disappointing, as only 

 those seen on turning over the bait or those in the mould immediately beneath 

 it were captui-ed. It was soon seen, however, that much larger numbers coidd 

 be fovmd by turning over the mould in a circle two or three feet in diameter 

 round the carcases as the beetles evidently burrowed outwards into the 

 sv^ri'ovuiding earth. All the British species of Nccrophorus, with the exception 

 of N. interrvptus, were taken in this manner, but this was subsequently 

 obtained, in an identical fashion, in the motdd round a dead kitten placed on a 

 soft flower-bed at Broadstairs. 



The consideration of some of the foregoing observations is of interest. It 

 appears obvious that the beetles find their way to carrion by some sense akin to 

 our own sense of smell. This is particularly shown by the fact that they ch-op 

 to the ground some distance away from the soiu'ce of the odour, as this would 

 diffuse in greatest strength for a short distance along the ground in the still 

 air amongst the vegetation before rising sufficiently to be can-ied along by the 

 breeze. The beetles then, following the line of maximum odour, would find it 

 dip down towards the ground a short distance before the actual site of the 

 carcase. This argues, however, that their power of vision must be small and 

 reliance placed entirely on the sense of smell or its equivalent. 



It is obvious from some facts recorded above that many of the so-called 

 carrion feeding beetles are not true carrion feeders, but take their toll from the 

 rich harvest of larvae which appears so rapidly in any carcase. The list given 

 only includes those which, without distvirbance of the baits, could be identified 

 when seen carrying off larvee, and I feel sure that it will be very greatly 

 extended. I am not convinced that the Necrophori themselves even are true 

 carrion feeders. Wex-e this the case one would expect them to remain in the 

 carcases for some time to feed on the decomposing flesh, but in my experience 

 they seem to pay only short visits and then to retire into the surrounding 

 mould, or grass if the mould be too hard for burrowing, in exactly the same 

 manner as those species seen actually to feed vipon larvae. They are, however, 

 particularly shy of exposing themselves once the carcase is reached, and I have 

 not been lucky enough to see one with its prey. Possibly they feed upon the 

 smaller Coleoptera as well as, or instead of, the fly larvae. 



Lastly, I am by no means convinced that the " bvirying " of the carcase 

 is due only to the Necrophori, or that it is a pui-posive act. The burial of a 

 carcase is partly apparent and partly real. As decomposition advances the 

 corpse, after a preliminary expansion dvie to the gases liberated by the bacteria 

 within, becomes much flatter than at first owing to the dispersal of the gases 

 through the various rents formed and to actual loss of substance due to the 

 voraciovxs onslaughts of the larvae. At the same time the vegetation beneath 

 is killed by the deleterious juices which soak down into it. This dead vegeta- 

 tion IS soon disintegrated and carried away by the action of the beetles 

 scrambling to and from their food supply, provided of coui-se that it be not too 

 dense. Should the grouud be firm the same action causes a dusty hollow to 

 appear in the earth itself beneath the carcase, but the real amount of burial is 



