300 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. i04 



summarized in works by Heymons and von Lengerken (1929, pp. 

 531-613) and von Lengerken (1939, 1952), who is now bringing some of 

 his earlier publications up to date. 



One of the European genera of Geotrupini, Typhosus, has been the 

 subject of much investigation, particularly one widely ranging species, 

 Typhoeus typhoeus Linne, which early aroused the interest of Fabre, the 

 famous French naturaUst. Fabre (1922, Mattos translation, pp. 

 72-171) published an account of his investigations of these beetles 

 using the name Minotaurus. Main (1917, p. 21) has said, "A good 

 deal has been written about them [Minotaurus] by Fabre in which 

 speculation however plays a large part. His votaries did not show 

 him the insect actually engaged on much of their work, but his 

 assiduity and devotion in recording in most delightful language his 

 observations and speculations makes his works an inspiration to many 

 besides his own countrymen." (Despite his occasional digressions 

 into fantasy, Fabre was a very astute observer and subsequent 

 workers have added little to his basic information on the biology of 

 Typhoeus.) 



From information contained in the works of Fabre (1922, Mattos 

 translation, pp. 72-171), Carpenter (1928, p. 209), Ohaus (1909, pp. 

 105^111), Fiiessly (1794, p. 66), Main (1917, pp. 18-22; 1918, p. 90), 

 and Arrow (1951, pp. 40-42), the habits of Typhoeus are briefly sum- 

 marized as follows. In the early spring, adults, working in pairs, 

 construct burrows 3 to 5 feet deep in shady, sandy localities. The 

 male then provisions the burrow with pellets of rabbit, sheep, cow, or 

 horse dung, which the female works into elongate pods of food for the 

 future larva. The eggs are deposited singly in a small cell in the sand 

 outside of the food, in a manner similar to Lethrus. Larval develop- 

 ment, at first rapid, becomes slower, pupation not occurring until 

 late in the summer and the imago emerging in the faU. Main (1918, 

 p. 90) found that in England pupation occurred in the second summer. 

 Six or eight larval cells are constructed, branching off of one burrow. 

 This type of burrow with the larval cells branching off of it has also 

 been recorded for many of the European Geotrupes. Except for the 

 depth of the burrow, the oviposition of the egg outside of the food 

 cell, and possible 2-year cycle, the habits of Typhoeus typhoeus differ 

 only in minor ways from the European species of Geotrupes. How- 

 ever, the larva differs strikingly from that of Geotrupes by not having 

 the metathoracic legs reduced in size. 



It appears from the numerous works on European Geotrupes that 

 the species all have similar habits and use either horse or cow dung 

 to provision their larval cells. There are a number of excellent works 

 to which the reader could profitably refer. The biology and larval 

 morphology of Geotrupes stercorarius (Linne) have been briefly dis- 



