48 Trans. Acad, of St. Louis 



mating. They in the mated condition would walk about, 

 back to back sometimes accomplishing surprising feats 

 of climbing. The others were burrowing in the ground 

 and perhaps mating underground, for in two instances 

 I saw insects that were above ground attempting to 

 mate with others which were fast disappearing under- 

 ground and had the tips of the abdomens barely pro- 

 truding. Food was later let down to them on a piece of 

 twine and the twine tied about the lid. The beetles 

 would often climb this twine and sometimes, with diffi- 

 culty, accomplish mating even there, but soon both 

 would fall. 



They were kept for some time in a deep glass jar half 

 filled with earth, and were fed on cooked and raw 

 meat. Often they would crawl on top of the provender 

 but seemed very wary; a slight lifting of the lid would 

 cause them to scamper under cover. When a tiny pool 

 of juice had accumulated on the side of the dead mouse 

 which we had served to them, the beetles were seen to 

 actually drink this up. A small dead garter snake was 

 at another time inserted. At a bruised spot on the side, 

 five of these beetles soon gnawed out a hole three- 

 fourths of an inch in length, and anotheil place twice as 

 large in the middle of the snake. Cooked beef was only 

 sparingly nibbled at, but when no raw food was given 

 they ate enough of the cooked meat to sustain life. They 

 lived thus from April 24 to about May 18. Whether 

 their death then was natural, or due to their artificial 

 environment, I know not. 



The beetles themselves had no distinctive odor, but 

 always when picked up with the forceps (and I suppose 

 always when defence is needed), a drop of thick brown- 

 ish-gray fluid was emitted from the anus. This had a 

 sharp and offensive odor. I made experiments sufficient 

 to prove to my own mind that it was the drop and not 

 the insect which exhaled the smell; both insect and con- 

 tainer remained odorless until the animal was teased. 



