THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 133 



grassy plot watching at some distance the headlong, tumble- 

 down, dashing flight of the birds in question, I was "Surprised 

 at the number of dead dor-beetles lying about at ray feet, 

 scattered here and there. On closer examination each of 

 these defunct beetles proved to be but a shell — so to speak — 

 of its former self, the soft parts of the body having all disap- 

 ])eared most probably in the ants'-nest at no great distance, 

 many members of which association formed a foraging ])arty 

 amongst the grass-stems, notwithstanding the inclemency of 

 the weather. I lurthermore observed that this small, sandy 

 greensward was a regular nursery for the beetle above 

 named, and that its soft spongy surface was tunnelled in 

 many places, and in the choice of such a site the beetles had 

 exercised no small amount of wisdom, for not only was the 

 nature of the ground jjeculiarly adapted for their " borings," 

 but the droppings of the rabbits, which came to feed upon 

 the grass at night, made such a situation doubly convenient, 

 for here was food for their future offspring close at hand, and, 

 more than that, the pellets were ready made. Several beetles 

 were busy collecting these ])ellets; one of these 1 watched 

 more closely than the rest, and its mode of procedure was as 

 follows : — the tunnel at which the creature was working was 

 surrounded with a small, sandy mound, caused no doubt by 

 the throwings out during the excavation ; at the base of this 

 mound several pellets of dung were lying, as the beetle did 

 not dispose of them down the tunnel as it brought them, but 

 collected several before they were drawn up the side of the 

 so-called mound to be rolled into the tunnel. Whether these 

 pellets were discovered by scent or sight I could not satis- 

 factorily prove, — possibly by a combination of both, — but 

 most of us are aware that the olfactory organs of these 

 creatures are very acute. In searching for these pellets the 

 beetle invariably went in the same direction, and on finding 

 one it seemed to be recognized by an application of the 

 palpi : the pellet was then seized by the two fore legs, the 

 hooks and pointed projections — of which the use was very 

 apparent — holding it firmly, whilst the pellet was further 

 steadied by the head of the operator. In this position it was 

 dragged, the beetle going backwards in exactly the same 

 track as it had come in its search, and it was surprising to see 

 how tenaciously it held on to its prize, lor in returning it often 



