82 INSECTS ABROAD. 



Beetle, it is quite a giant among its family. The actual colour of 

 its body is reddish, and the surface is rather shining. It is, how- 

 ever, coarsely punctated, and densely covered with dead pitchy- 

 black and very coarse hair, so that at iirst sight the insect appears 

 to be a black one. These hairs even extend to the head and 

 legs. The body is very convex, the head is much narrowed in 

 front and broad behind, and the thorax has a very similar form, 

 except that it is rounded and not squared behind. Altogether 

 it is an odd-looking creature, and is valuable to English ento- 

 mologists as being a naturally magnified example of the minute 

 species to which he is accustomed at home. 



The next group of the Carrion-Eaters is popularly known by 

 the name of Burying Beetles, because they always bury beneath 

 the surface of the earth the substance in which they are about 

 to lay their eggs. They themselves do not know the reason 

 why they are impelled to this act, but there is no difficulty in 

 understanding it. The larvae or grubs, which are developed 

 from their eggs, can only feed on soft substances. Their scientific 

 name is Silphidae. 



There are many of the Carrion-Eaters which are strong- 

 toothed, and can eat almost any animal substance that is less hard 

 than bone ; but those of the Burying Beetles cannot do so, and 

 must have their food kept soft for them. For this purpose there 

 is nothing better than burying it in the ground, where it cannot 

 be dried up by the hot sunbeams or liquefied by the wet, and 

 absorbed into the ground before the grubs have lived their full 

 larval life. That wonderful substance, earth, is the best pre- 

 servative that could be found. The body of an animal, if covered 

 with only a few inches of earth, decays but very slowly, and 

 preserves its softness and moistness to the last. 



Of this property the Beetles in question are taught by their 

 instinct to avail themselves, and, inadequate as their bodies may 

 seem to be for such a task, they manage to bury beneath the 

 surface of the ground any small animal that may be lying dead 

 upon it. This they do, not by digging a hole and putting the 

 animal into it, but by scooping away the earth from beneath it, 

 and so letting it gradually down. 



Even in our own country, where laud is extensively cultivated, 

 and where in consequence comparatively tew carcases are allowed 



