186 



JOURNAL Off HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



[ February 26, 1874. 



7 to 10 inches in the instance of the burying beetles that are 

 most common : this, however, is a Uttle over-estimated. The 

 head and the legs are, of com-se, the only implements the 

 beetle can employ ; but by changing its position, and alter- 

 nately employing different pairs of legs, one of them has been 

 seen to work on with scarcely a moment's pause for some 

 hours. By several pushing or dragging together, these insects 

 manage to shift a dead animal a little, should it not be pre- 

 cisely as they wish ; but I can scarcely credit the statement of 

 Gleditsch, that when he had set several of the Necrophori to 

 bury a dead linnet, one of them, by an extraordinajy effort, 

 lifted the bird and placed it in the grave. Some credit is cer- 

 tainly due to this entomologist for having through nearly two 

 months watched a number of these at their labours, giving 

 them a variety of subjects to work upon. He found (and the 

 experiment has been repeated by others) , that if a dead animal 

 was fastened to the end of a stick, and even tied thereto, the 

 beetles will undermine the stick and gnaw asunder the string 

 by which the carcase is secured. It would be curious to ascer- 

 tain — which has not yet been done — whether the burying 

 beetles would attempt to do anything with a dead animal lying 

 amongst long gi'ass, where digging could hardly be attempted. 



The largest burying beetle found in Britain (Necrophorus 

 germanicus,./!7y. 1) is nearly black ; the other species are banded 

 with orange and black, andof these N. vespUIo (jiij. 2) seems most 

 generally distributed. The odour they givo forth is pecuUar 

 and disagi'eeable ; not, however, exactly resembling the products 

 of decomposition, but rather musky, no doubt protecting the 

 species from the attacks of some enemy. The larva) also, long- 

 bodied creatures, with scaly segments and very short legs, 

 grow slowly, and, having attained their full size, form eai-th 

 cocoons for themselves, coming forth as beetles in early 

 summer. The poet has managed to throw a Uttle romance 

 about the proceedings of the burying beetles, and writes thus 

 of them : — 



" From sire to son throngh circling years 

 Labour these watchful creatures, noting well 

 If falls a small bird from the bending spray, 

 Or mole toss'd out by ruthless bands, his home 

 Laid waste, himself a corpse, where late he wrought 

 With patient toil his humble shed to rear ; 

 Or brown mouse sleeping his last sleep — 

 Each and all are laid the earth beneath 

 With decent care." 



In the tribe of SUphida: are smaller species as serviceable to 

 man as the Necrophori; some, indeed, more so — as, for ex- 





Fig. 2.— Buiyiug Beetles (Necrophorus vespiilo) interring the body of a rat.* 



ample, the Four-spotted SUpha (S. qnadripunctata), represented 

 in the accompanying woodcut— ;rt<7. S), a reddish brown beetle, 



Fig. 1. — Necrophoi-us gcrmanicus.^ 



Fig. 3. — SUpha qnadripunctata.* 



with two double spots on the elytra or wing-cases. At first glance 

 it may seem to resemble a lady-bird, though the body is more 

 elongated. In the perfect state these beetles have been seen 

 feeding upon caterpillars on the Oak and other trees, whUe the 



* From Figuier's " Insect World." CasBell's edition. 



larvto devour offensive and decaying substances, which are not 

 interred by the parent beetles usually, though they had long 

 ago the name of " Sextons " given to them, because they are 

 sometimes to be seen digging into the earth, or into manure, 

 &c., resting thereupon. It must be acknowledged that one of 

 the SUphida; — namely, S. obscura, has been foimd in the act 

 of doing damage to Beetroot, which fact is, therefore, a partial 

 set-off against the services of certain of its relatives. S. h-cvi- 

 gata preys frequently upon snails ; and despite the spume 

 which these molluscs throw out when they are approached by 

 an insect enemy, the beetle manages to overcome and devour 

 them. The larva of the SUphida are likely enough to be 

 turned up by the spade or fork, and as likely to be considered 

 hurtful creatures, for they are black unpleasant-looking grubs, 

 yet, with the one exception mentioned, rather useful than 

 otherwise. They are much more rapid in their movements 

 than the larvo? of the Necrophori. — J. R. S. C. 



ASSOCIATION OF SCULPTURE WITH PLANTS. 

 Whateley observed justly of the dressed grounds, that 

 " nothing should seem neglected near the house ; it is a scene 

 of the most cultivated nature ; it ought to be enriched ; it 

 ought to be adorned ; and design may be avowed in the plan, 

 ami expense in the execution. Even regularity is not ex 



