THE BEETLES 



143 



FIG. 201. A carrion-beetle 



(Silpha novaboracensis] and 



larva. (One and one half times 



natural size) 



(After Kellogg) 



is derived from their habit of excavating beneath dead animals, 

 which they gradually drop beneath the surface and then cover 

 with soil. Both adults and larvae feed on decomposing animals 

 and are among the chief natural agents for their sanitary disposal, 

 though some species are predacious and others feed on decaying 



fungi. The larvae are black, flattened, 

 with the segments sharply marked, and 

 are found with the adults. 



The rove-beetles (Staphylinidae). The 

 rove-beetles are readily recognized by 

 the very short wing-covers, usually not 

 over a third of the length of the abdo- 

 men. Most species are very small, but 

 the more common ones are from half an 

 inch to an inch long, with narrow, parallel- 

 sided bodies. They run about swiftly and 

 when disturbed curl up the abdomen as 

 if to sting. The larger common species are found with the Silphidae 

 feeding on carrion or decaying organic matter, being commonly 

 found in dump heaps, while the smaller 

 species feed on pollen, fungi, or small 

 insects. 



Cucujidae. The saw-toothed grain-beetle 

 (Silvanus surinamensis), which is one of 

 our commonest grain pests, is a good ex- 

 ample of the small family Ciicujidae. It 

 is a small, flat beetle, an eighth of an 

 inch long, and readily distinguished 

 from other small grain insects by the ser- 

 rated edges of the thorax. It feeds also on all sorts of fruits, seeds, 

 and dry pantry stores, as do the little whitish larvae. The other com- 

 mon species are much-flattened beetles which live beneath bark and 

 feed upon small insects and fungi. One of these (Cucujus clavipes) 

 is a bright red, with eyes and antennae black and tibiae and tarsi 

 dark, and is readily recognized by the thin body. 



Larder-beetles. Every housewife knows that she must be on the 

 lookout for the small carpet-beetle, often called the buffalo-moth 

 (Anthrcnus scrophularia), and for the larder-beetle (Dermestes 



FIG. 202. 



A rove-beetle and 

 its larva 



