COLEOPTERA. 



137 



Claviger testaceus, caressed by ants (greatly enlarged). 



touches and caresses it with its antennae, and while the beetle responds in a 

 similar manner, the ant sucks at the tufts of hair near the end of the beetle's 

 elytra, and then licks the whole anterior surface of the back of its abdomen. 

 The ants feed the beetles in very much the same way as they feed their larvae. 

 When the beetle is hungry it expresses its desire to be fed by licking an ant near 

 the mouth, and occasion- 

 ally stroking the sides of 

 its head with gentle 

 movements of its 

 antennae. During the 

 process of feeding the 

 beetle is passive ; the ant 

 moves its head gently to 

 and fro, while the head 

 of the beetle rests almost 

 motionless in its mouth. 

 The attention bestowed 



by the ants on the beetles is as great as that which they give to their own larvae, 

 and they frequently feed the hungry ones among them, before looking after the 

 wants of their own brood. 



The orange-banded burying-beetles of the genus Necrophorus are probably 

 the best-known members of the Silphidce, though they are not to be considered the 

 most representative, either in habits, size, or general appearance. The many genera 

 of which the family is composed differ greatly in size and outward form, while the 

 burying instinct is almost entirely confined to the genus Necrophorus. In nearly 

 all cases, however, the antennae, consisting usually of eleven joints, are thickened 

 towards the tip or furnished with a distinct club ; the prothorax is usually broad 

 and flat, with sharply defined lateral margins, while the elytra frequently do not 

 reach to the tip of the abdomen; the coxae of the four anterior legs are large, 

 prominent, and conical in shape ; and the tarsi are usually five-jointed, though 

 occasionally with a less number of joints. The Carrion - beetles are widely 

 distributed, though chiefly characteristic of the colder and temperate zones. 

 In the genus Necrophorus the antennae terminate in an almost globular, four- 

 jointed mass ; the body is broadest across the ends of the elytra, which are 

 abruptly truncated, leaving the tip of the abdomen exposed. The species of this 

 genus are black in colour, but in most of them the elytra are crossed by two 

 broad orange bands. They feed upon dead animals of all kinds, and their habit of 

 burying the smaller carcases, such as those of mice, moles, small birds, etc., has gained 

 for them the name of " sexton " or " burying " beetles. Their mode of operation is to 

 creep underneath and dig the earth away until they have made a hole big enough 

 to receive the dead body ; as the latter sinks, the loose soil closes over it and in 

 time completely hides it from view. The females then lay their eggs in the 

 carcase, which subsequently serves as food for the larvae. These insects must have 

 a very acute sense of smell, for in a very short time after a mole has been killed 

 some of them may be seen hovering over the body, although not previously 

 observed anywhere in the vicinity. Out of about a dozen species of Necrophorus 



