616 



THE BURYING BEETLE. 



Next to the Staphylinidse are placed some insects that have become 

 quite famous for their curious and valuable habits. These are the Nec- 

 rophaga, popularly and appropriately termed Burying Beetles. 



It is owing to the exertions of these li|;tle scavengers that the carcases 

 of birds, small mammals, and reptiles are seldom seen to cumber the 



ground, being 

 "~ buried at a 

 depth of several 

 inches, where 

 they serve to in- 

 -^ crease the fer- 

 =[^^ tility of the 

 ^^-"^ earth instead of 

 tainting the pu- 

 rity of the atmo- 

 sphere. These 

 beetles may eas- 

 ily be captured 

 by laying a dead 

 I^ mouse, mole, 

 Jr bird, frog, or 

 Tr even a piece of 

 "^ meat, on the 

 ground, and 



marking the 



spot, so as to be 



The Kove Beetle (Ocypus olens). 



able to find the 

 place where it 



had been laid. It will hardly have remained there for a couple of 

 hours before some Burying Beetle will find it out and straightway set 

 to work at its interment. The plan adopted is by burrowing under- 

 neath the corpse and scratching away the earth, so as to form a hollow, 

 into which the body sinks. When the beetles have worked for some 

 time they are quite hidden, and the dead animal seems to subside into 

 the ground as if by magic. 



The strength and perseverance of these beetles are so great that a very 

 short time suffices to bury the creature completely below the ground, 

 and, the earth being scraped over it, the process is complete. The 

 object of burying dead animals is to gain a proper spot wherein to de- 

 posit their eggs, as the larvae, when hatched, feed wholly on decaying 

 animal substance. 



We now come to the Lamellicorn Beetles, so called from the beauti- 

 ful plates, or lamellae, which decorate the antennse. This family in- 

 cludes a vast number of species, many of which— as, for example, the 



