THE BEETLE. 183 



Burying beetle M. Gleditch's discoveries. 



four years to their production; and live as winged 

 insects a year more. 



The burying beetle, which is an inhabitant of 

 of the deserts of Tartary, and several other parts 

 of the continent, is generally found there under 

 carcases that are dried in the sun. Its shells are 

 of an opake black colour, striated, punctured, 

 and somewhat rough. 



o 



M. Gleditch, who had at different times, ob- 

 served that moles which had been left upon the 

 ground after they had been killed, very unac- 

 countably disappeared, was determined to ascer- 

 tain by experiment, if possible, what could be 

 the cause of this singular occurrence. In the 

 month of May, this gentleman accordingly ob- 

 tained a dead mole, which he placed on the 

 moist soft earth of his garden, and in two days 

 he found it sunk to the depth of four fingers' 

 breadth into the earth: it^vas in the same posi- 

 tion in which he had. placed it, and its grave 

 corresponded exactly with the length and breadth 

 of its body. The day following, this grave was 

 half filled up; and he drew out the mole cau- 

 tiously, which exhaled a horrible stench, and 

 found, directly under it, little holes in which 

 were four beetles of the a"bove species. Disco- 

 vering at this time nothing but these beetles, he 

 put them into the hollow, and they quickly hid 

 themselves among the earth. He then replaced 

 the mole as he found it, and having spread a lit- 

 tle soft earth over it, left it without looking at it 



