436 JOURNAL, BOMBA Y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVII. 



Fig. 100.— Gymno- 

 pleurussinnatus. 

 (Assam). 



different species affect the droppings of different animals and that the 



beetles are not omnivorous in this respect in India. When the chamber 



is full the female deposits her egg or eggs (the number is always small) 

 in the portion which contains the freshest and softest material, for the 



mandibles of the young larva? on first hatching are soft and incapable of 

 operating on hard materials. Having deposited her 

 eggs she closes up the chamber. In some features 

 of their life history these Insects are exceptional. 

 For instance the female beetle does not usually die 

 after depositing her eggs, as is the common rule 

 amongst Insect life. She remains alive and sees her 

 offspring develop and then, in some cases at any 

 rate, produces another generation. This is very 

 unusual although not without parallels in families 

 which we shall consider in subsequent chapters. 

 Amongst Indian Coprides may be mentioned the small Copris 



reflessus, a small shining blackish beetle from the North Khasi Hills 



in Assam (Fig. 98.) 



Gymnopleurus sin- 



natus (Fig. 100) is a 



common cattle and 



game dung coprid 



of Assam. A large ' 



beetle of this group 



is the Elephant 



dung beetle Helio- 



copris mouhoutus 



of which the stages 



of larva, and beetle 



are shown in Plate 



II., Figs, a, b. Con- 

 siderable discussion 



has taken place over 



this insect. Two 



forms of the beetle 



exist, one being an Fig. I01.-Heliocopris dominus. $. (Assam). 



inhabitant of Assam whilst the other ranges throughout Burma, Southern 



India and the Malays. Sharp considers the two forms identical under 



