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CHAPTER VIII. 



BURROWING BEETLES. 



The Tiger Beetle, and its habits— Beauty of the Insect, its Larva, and mode 

 of hfe — Carious form of its Burrow — The Sexton Beetle, and its power of 

 digging in the ground — The Dor Beetle, and the substances into which it 

 Burrows— Use of the Dor Beetle— The Scarab/eus of Egypt and its won- 

 derful Instincts — The Egg, the Grub, and the Cocoon — Cocoon in the 

 British Museum — The Mole Cricket, its form and elaborate Dwelling — 

 Its general Habits, and wide distribution — The Field Cricket, and its 

 Tunnels — The May-Fly, and its home — The Ant-Lion, its form, food, and 

 mode of life — The Pitfall and its structure — Mode of catching Prey — Perfect 

 form of the Ant-Lion. 



We now come to the Burrowing Beetles, of which there are no 

 few species. 



First among the British coleoptera comes the lovely Tiger 

 Beetle {Cicindela campestris)^ an insect which, though small, 

 can challenge comparison with the most beautiful exotic speci- 

 mens. It is the fiercest, handsomest, and most active of all 

 the British coleoptera, using legs and wings with equal agility, 

 running or flying with such speed that its form cannot be clearly 

 defined, and settling on the ground or taking to wing with equal 

 ease. As it darts through the air, the burnished surface of the 

 abdomen flashes in the sunbeams as if a living gem had passed 

 by, earning for its owner the popular title of Sparkler Beede. 



This insect is a mighty burrower, exhibiting, even in its 

 larval condition, some of that fiery energy which actuates it 

 when it has reached its perfect condition. Sandy banks are 

 the chief resorts of the Tiger Beetle, which in this country 

 seems seldom or never to alight upon trees, restricting itself to 

 bare and sandy soil. It even avoids those spots which are 

 covered with grass and herbage, cares nothing for shade, and 



