BURYING-BEETLE. 127 



ture, though in such a gay dress, being so foetid that one's 

 hands smell for hours after handling him; and if he crawls 

 on one's coat, or other garments not often washed, the 

 smell continues for days. The whole tribe of burying- 

 beetles lay their eggs in the bodies of dead animals, which, 

 when possible, they bury for the purpose. In Russia, 

 where death itself does not do away with distinctions, the 

 poor people are buried but a few inches under ground, the 

 coffin consisting of four boards roughly nailed together, 

 and not particularly well fitted ; the operation of burying is 

 often at the expense of the country, and therefore done from 

 necessity, not love. This mode affords great satisfaction 

 to the burying-beetles, as it saves them the labours of the 

 gravedigger. They avail themselves of the bodies placed 

 so nicely within their reach, and the graves are pierced 

 with their holes in every direction ; at evening, hundreds 

 of these beetles may be seen in the Russian burying- 

 places, either buzzing about the graves, or sitting placidly 

 at the mouths of their burrows, which lead into them. 



The burying-beetle in this country seldom finds so con- 

 venient a provision for him, and he is under the necessity 

 of taking much more trouble ; he sometimes avails himself 

 of dead dogs and horses, but these are too great rarities to 

 be his constant resort : the usual objects of his search are 

 dead mice, rats, birds, frogs, and moles ; of these, a bird 

 is most commonly obtained. In the neighbourhood of 

 towns, every kind of garbage that is thrown out attracts 

 these beetles as soon as it begins to smell ; and it is not 

 unusual to see them settling in our streets, enticed by the 

 grateful odour of such substances. 



The burying-beetles hunt in couples, male and female ; 

 and when six or eight are found in a large animal, they 



