BEETLES. 227 



they continue their work by rolling off the next ball that comes 

 in their way. None of them seem to know their own balls, but 

 an equal care for the whole appears to affect all the community. 

 They form these pellets while the dung remains moist, and 

 leave them to harden in the sun before they attempt to roll 

 them. In their rolling of them from place to place, both they 

 and the balls may frequently be seen tumbling about over the 

 little eminences that are in their way. They are not, however, 

 easily discouraged, and by repeating their attempts usually 

 surmount the difficulties.^ 



Biichner speaks of the fact that dung-beetles co-operate 

 in their work as one that is well established, but gives no 

 authorities or references.^ A friend of my own, however, 

 informs me that she has witnessed the fact ; and in view 

 of analogous observations made on other species of Coleop- 

 tera, I see no reason to doubt this one. Some of these 

 observations I may here append. 



Herr Gollitz writes to Biichner thus : — 



Last summer, in the month of July, I was one day in my 

 field, and found there a mound of fresh earth like a molehill, 

 on which a striped black and red beetle, with long legs, and 

 about the size of a hornet, was busy taking away the earth 

 from a hole that led Hke a pit into the mound, and levelling 

 the place. After I had watched this beetle for some time, I 

 noticed a second beetle of the same kind, which brought a little 

 lump of earth from the interior to the opening of the hole, and 

 then disappeared again in the mound ; every four or five minutes 

 a pellet came out of the hole, and was carried away by the first- 

 named beetle. After I had watched these proceedings for about 

 half an hour, the beetle which had been working underground 

 came out and ran to its comrade. Both put their heads together, 

 and clearly held a conversation, for immediately afterwards they 

 changed work. The one which had been working outside went 

 into the mound, the other took the outside labour, and all went 

 on vigorously, I watched the affair still for a little longer, and 

 went away with the notion that these insects could understand 

 each other just like men. Klingelhoffer, of Darmstadt (in 

 Brehm, loc. cit., ix., p. 86), says : — A golden running beetle came 

 to a cockchafer lying on its back in the garden, intending to eat 

 it, but was unable to master it ; it ran to the next bush, and 



^ Quoted by Bingley, Animal Biography, vol. iii., p. 118. 

 2 Loc. cit., p. 344. 



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