THE BURYING BEETLES. 91 



One of the commonest of our species is the Necro- 

 phorus Vespillo, which varies in length from about 

 half an inch to an inch ; its general colour is black, 

 but the elytra have two broad orange bands running 

 across them ; the clubs of the antennae are also orange, 

 the hinder trochanters are armed with a spine, and 

 the hinder tibiae are strongly curved. The Necro- 

 phori may be readily known from the Silphce (to 

 which however they are nearly allied) by their more 

 elongated form, the greater size of the head, which 

 stands freely out from the thorax, the knob-like clubs 

 of their antennae, and their abbreviated elytra, which 

 leave a considerable portion of the apex of the abdo- 

 men exposed. Their larvae, being provided by the 

 care of their parents with an ample supply of food, 

 and being in consequence under no necessity of roam- 

 ing about the world to get their living, are more 

 fleshy and grub-like than those of the Silphae, and 

 their legs are short and weak. They undergo their 

 transformations in a small chamber which they hollow 

 out in the earth. 



The insects just mentioned, and many others of the 

 truly carrion-eating species of this group, are fre- 

 quently found indulging themselves in a change of 

 diet in the shape of decaying fungi, and these plants, 

 both in a fresh and putrescent condition, constitute 

 the favourite food of a great number of the smaller 

 members of the tribe. These are exceedingly nume- 

 rous, and may be met with in a great variety of 

 situations. Some occur in rotten wood, and under 

 the bark of trees, others amongst the dead leaves 

 which cover the ground in woods, and a good many 

 frequent flowers. Some species (such as Trogosita 

 mauritanica, and some Cucuji) devour stored grain 



