BUKEOWING BEETLES. 169 



CHAPTEE YIII. 



BURROWING BEETLES. 



The Tiger Beetle and its Habits. — Beauty of the Insect, its Larva, and Mode of 

 Life. — Curious Form of its Burrow. — The Sexton Beetl?: and its Power of 

 digging in the Ground. — The Dob Beetle — its polished Surface, and the Sub- 

 stances in which it Burrows. — Use of the Dor Beetle. — The ScAEABiEtjs of 

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

 coon in the British Museum. — The Mole-ckickbt, its Form and elaborate 

 Dwelling. — Its general Habits and wide Distribution. — The Field-cricket and 

 its Tunnels. — Structure of the Ovipositor. — The Migkaiokv 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 tlie Burrowing Beetles, of which there are 

 no few species. As is the case with the generality of insects, the 

 subterranean habitations which they excavate are seldom intend- 

 ed for their own use — at all events, after they have attained their 

 perfect form ; but are either formed by the parent while prepar- 

 ing 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 {Cidndela Campestris), an insect which, though small, can 

 challenge comparison with the most beautiful exotic specimens. 

 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 can not 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, exhibit- 

 ing, even in its larval condition, something 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, restrict- 

 ing itself to bare and sandy soil. It even avoids those spots 

 which are covered with grass and herbage, cares nothing for 



