ORDER I.—BEETLES. ae 
many years, and transported thousands of miles without in- 
jury. I have been thus particular in these details because 
I am often asked how to catch and preserve these insects. 
Another species of Dung Beetle, very beneficial in the 
same way, and well known to every child, is the funny 
TuMBLE-BUG, or Pellet Beetle (Ateuchus volvens), which is 
found in all the States of the Union, and in fact similar 
ones are found in all parts of the world. Pliny, speaking 
of that species which is found in Italy, says: “Aliud scara- 
beorum genus, qui e fimo ingentes pilos aversis pedibus volutant, 
parvosque in us contra rigorem liemis vermiculos foctus sui ni- 
dulantur.” 
The Pellet Beetle of North America is half an inch long, 
of a black, and some of them of a changeable green or pur- 
ple color, exhaling a fetid odor, slightly resembling that of 
musk. ‘These Beetles are complete models of industry and 
parental care, for they are continually occupied in making 
small balls of fresh manure, about the size of a common 
marble, which they mix with earth, and into which they 
deposit an egg. As soon as the ball is dry they roll it and 
roll it, until they find a convenient place for making a hole 
two or three feet deep, into which they roll it, and then 
bury up their offspring, the precious object of so much 
care. 
The ancient Egyptians were so convinced of the benefit 
derived from these insects, that they considered Pellet Bee- 
tles as sacred, and usually represented them in their tem- 
ples, obelisks, and statues. They are also found even in 
their mummeries. The Ateuchus sacer of the Egyptians, 
however, although of the same character and habits as our 
Pellet Beetle, is twice as large, and is also black. It is 
found not only in Egypt; I saw it also in France, Italy, 
the Crimea, and along the Caucasus. 
We come now to a species of insects which are in rather 
bad repute among farmers, because they feed on decayed 
