The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



choosing one In proportion to his strength, 

 as do the Hunting Wasps; he accepts what 

 chance offers. Among his finds some are 

 small, such as the Shrew-mouse; some me- 

 dium-sized, such as the Field-mouse; some 

 enormous, such as the Mole, the Sewer-rat 

 and the Snake, any of which exceeds the dig- 

 ging-powers of a single sexton. In the ma- 

 jority of cases, transportation is impossible, 

 so greatly disproportioned is the burden to 

 the motive-power. A slight displacement, 

 caused by the effort of the insects' backs. Is 

 all that can possibly be effected. 



Ammophila and Cerceris,^ Sphex and 

 Pompilus excavate their burrows wherever 

 they please; they carry their prey on the 

 wing, or, if too heavy, drag it afoot. The 

 Necrophorus knows no such facilities in his 

 task. Incapable of carting the monstrous 

 corpse, no matter where encountered, he Is 

 forced to dig the grave where the body lies. 



This obligatory place of sepulture may be 

 in stony soil or in shifting sand; it may oc- 

 cupy this or that bare spot, or some other 

 where the grass, especially the couch-grass, 

 plunges into the ground its inextricable net- 

 work of little cords. There is a great pro- 



1 Cf. The Hunting Wasps: chaps, i. to iii. — Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



304 



