Rove Beetles 225 



the end of its body and moves it as if embarrassed. 



The action of the beetle in elevating its tail 

 causes the children to fear it. The Rove beetle 

 has stout jaws, but that is not what the children 

 fear; they are afraid that there may })e a poison 

 sting concealed in the threatening upheld tail. 



Rove beetles are found about 

 decaying substances and their 

 babies or the larvae look very much 

 like their parents (Fig. 206), that 

 is, they are nearly as well de- 

 veloped, or we may put it another ^qM s.05 

 way: the parents are almost as undeveloped as the 

 children. When the larva changes to a beetle it 

 makes no such great change as does the whirligig 

 beetle's larva when it changes from an aquatic 

 worm-like creature to a round-bodied, hard-shelled, 

 shiny beetle. 



Some of the Rove beetles are as much as an 

 inch in length, but most of them are very small. 

 They are fond of damp places, hiding under stones, 

 in manure heaps, among mushrooms, toadstools 

 and moss, or under the bark and leaves of trees. 

 Numerous species of Rove beetles dwell in ant-hills 

 and it is possible that you may find some in the 

 bumble bees' nest. 



15 



