More Beetles 



condition; the maggots have disappeared, 

 carried off by the Saprini; these last are 

 themselves becoming scarce and are repair- 

 ing elsewhither in search of another hoard 

 of vermin. The Dermestes take possession 

 of the corpse and remain indefinitely, even 

 during the cruel dog-days, when the exces- 

 sive heat and drought have put all else to 

 flight. Under cover of the dried-up car- 

 case, in the shadow of the Mole's fur, which 

 makes an impenetrable screen, they nibble 

 and gnaw and clip as long as a scrap of edible 

 matter remains on the bones. 



And the work of consuming goes fast, for 

 one of the Beetles, Frisch's Dermestes, is 

 surrounded by her family, who are endowed 

 with the same appetites. Parents and lar- 

 val offspring of all ages feast higgledy-pig- 

 gledy, insatiably. As for the Wavy Derm- 

 estes, the other's collaborator in the dissec- 

 tion of corpses, I do not know where she lays 

 her eggs. My pans have taught me nothing 

 in this respect. As against that, they tell 

 me a great deal about the larva of the other 

 Dermestes. 



All through the spring and the greater 

 part of the summer the adult abounds beneath 

 my carcases, accompanied by the youngsters, 



44 



