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the dung of animals, more especially that of 

 cattle, afford food to some hundreds of species, 

 which will be found feeding on the surface or 

 buried beneath it. They also form subterrane- 

 ous excavations, sometimes to a considerable 

 depth, in order to deposit eggs in a place of 

 security. With respect to the carrion-feeders, 

 they appear of rare occurrence in tropical coun- 

 tries ; species, it is true, have been brought from 

 the East Indies ; but their labours are, in a 

 great measure, superseded by the multiplicity of 

 ants, of a gigantic size, which abound in all hot 

 climates. Traps, or wide-mouthed bottles baited 

 with flesh, and placed out of the reach of ants, 

 should be suspended by prepared cords, or insu- 

 lated by water; and the scent of the meat will 

 soon attract such insects as feed upon it: the 

 bottles should be frequently examined, and there 

 is no doubt that the collector will be soon repaid 

 for his trouble. 



Some of the largest known coleopterous in- 

 sects reside in decomposed vegetable substances ; 

 as tan-beds, the decayed roots of trees, and 

 the refuse of gardens. Boleti, fungi, dry rotten 

 trees, and detached bark, must never be passed 

 over by the collector; insects may frequently be 

 detected, at several inches from the surface, in 



