CHAPTER VIII. 



BUREOWING BEETLES. 



The TiQER Beetle, and its habiU— Beauty of the Insect, its LaiTa, and mode 

 of life — Curious form of its Bun-ow— The Sexton Beetle and its power of 

 digging in the ground — The Doe Beetle — Its polished surface, and the sub- 

 stances into which it Burrows — Use of the Dor Beetle — The ScAKABiens of 

 Egypt and its wonderful Instincts — The Egg, the Grub, and the Cocoon- 

 Cocoon in the Britisli Museum — The Mole Cricket, its form and elaborate 

 Dwelling — Its general Habits, and wide distribution. The Field Cricket, 

 and its Tunnels — Structure of the Ovipositor — The Migratory Locust and its 

 development — 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. As is the case with the generality of insects, 

 tlie subterranean habitations which they excavate are seldom 

 intended for their own use — at aU events, after they have 

 attained their perfect form ; but are either formed by the parent 

 while preparing a home for the young brood which it will never 

 see, or by the larva itself while feeding, or while forming a cell 

 in which it can lie dormant in the pupal state. 



First among the British coleoptera comes the lovely Tiger 

 Beetle (Gicindela 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 Beetle. 



This insect is, or rather has been, a mighty burrower, exliibit- 



