94 STRANGE DWELLINGS. 



British type is the common Dor Beetle {Geotrupes vulgaris)^ 

 sometimes called the Watchman, or Clock, whose heavy hum 

 drones upon the ear in the evening, as the 



' Beetle wheels his drowsy flight,' 



and whose hard and notched head occasionally strikes against 

 the face with a violence less agreeable to the man than to the 

 insect, the latter being quite undisturbed by the shock. 



Let us watch this beautiful insect, as it wheels through the 

 air. Either by the development of the sense of smell, or by 

 some sixth sense with which humanity is practically unac- 

 quainted, the beetle is made aware that the object of its search 

 is at hand. The dull, monotonous buzz is immediately ex- 

 changed for a triumphant hum, the circling flight ceases, and 

 the beetle darts through the air, with arrow-like rapidity, to 

 the spot which it seeks. A few more circles, lessening at 

 every round, and down it settles, on an object uninviting to 

 Europeans, but in great favour with Hindoos, Kaffirs, and 

 scarabaei, namely, a patch of cow-dung. 



No sooner has it settled, than it dives downwards until it 

 reaches the earth, and then bores a perpendicular hole, some 

 eight inches in depth, and large enough to admit a man's 

 finger. Having ascended to the surface, it carries a quantity 

 of the cow-dung to the bottom of the burrow, deposits an egg, 

 and ascends, repeating this process as long as its powers 

 endure. There are several other British beetles which prepare 

 the cradle for their offspring in a similar manner. 



Merely to dig a hole, to place at the bottom of it the food 

 which the young are intended to eat, and to fill it in with 

 earth, is a process of great simplicity, and makes but few calls 

 on the industry or ingenuity of the labourer. Some allied 

 beetles there are, however, which feed their young on similar 

 substances, and in like manner bury them in the earth, but 

 which exercise extraordinary industry in the performance of 

 the task. All the world has heard of the famous Scarab/eus 

 of the Egyptians [Scarabceus sacer), an insect which is found in 

 many parts of the globe, and very much resembles the Dor 



