240 A COUNTRY READER. 



hungry birds will swallow them whole, and 

 hedgehogs will crunch them with their strong 

 jaws before swallowing them. 



The sexton beetle, like the lady bird, has a 

 second line of defence, namely, it can emit, when 

 attacked, a very nasty fluid with a disgusting 

 smell, which, if it gets on woollen clothes, will 

 spoil them, and will cling to your fingers after 

 two or three washings. 



These beetles generally travel in pairs, and 

 they settle on the dead mouse for two reasons- 

 one to obtain an immediate supply of food for 

 themselves, and the other in order that the 

 female beetle may lay her eggs in the body of 

 the mouse, so that when her grubs hatch out 

 they can have a quantity of food ready to hand. 



It is stated that before the female lays her 

 eggs in the dead mouse, they proceed to bury 

 the mouse, cover it over, so that the store of 

 food both for themselves and their grubs may 

 last as long as possible. 



It would take too long to enter into a detailed 

 account of how this is done. But shortly, the 

 body is dragged by several pairs of beetles to a 

 suitable soft spot of ground in order that the 

 grave may be dug with ease. 



They then proceed to dig with their heads a 

 tunnel beneath the mouse, carrying out the earth 

 bit by bit, till the whole carcase sinks into the 



