OF BEETLES. 95 



About the latter end of August, September, and often in October, 

 according to the fineness of the weather, they begin to disappear, and 

 are found buried in the ground about six, seven, or eight inches below 

 the surface in perpendicular holes made by themselves. These holes are 

 often made in loose ground. When they first take up these habitations, 

 the passage leading down to the animal is not filled up ; but the earth 

 which they dig and bring up in making the hole, lies about just at the 

 mouth of the hole, and is extremely light, so that the least blast of wind 

 blows it into the hole, by which means they are covered over. 



They also bury themselves in the holes where they have laid their 

 eggs, just above the nidus or dung. They bury in societies, so that we 

 find ten, fifteen, or twenty or more holes, all close upon one another. 

 "Whether these little societies are one family or not, is not easily deter- 

 mined. In these holes they lie the whole winter ; and I suspect that 

 most of them die before the spring comes in ; however, not all, for I 

 have seen some of them in April and May, which is much too soon for 

 the hatching of the eggs ; but their numbers at this season of the year 

 are very few, and most probably they die soon. 



Upon digging away some earth close upon these holes, I was able to 

 split these holes in their direction downward, where I found the beetle 

 always placed at the bottom with its head upward. They were very 

 lifeless, but upon placing them in the sun they became very brisk. At 

 this season of the year it very often happens that the ground is tilled 

 where vast numbers have buried themselves. When this is the case, 

 and if it happens to be good weather, they are seen flying about in great 

 numbers. 



Of the Cockchafer [Melolontha vulgaris]. — This beetle flies about in 

 the beginning of the months of June and July ; commonly about the 

 tops of trees, houses, &c, to copulate. They became very few about the 

 20th of July, 1788, and in a few days were entirely gone. However, 

 I found one alive on the 26th of August in which was food in the 

 bowels ; and the ovaria were pretty empty. 



So far as the shell-wings [elytra] cover the back, so far are the scales 

 on the back soft ; but, towards the tail, the two last scales are hard, not 

 being covered by the shell- wings. 



The feelers terminate in three branches, which are flat, and which 

 close one on another, so as to look like an oblong body on the end of a 

 stick. Those of the males are larger than those of the female ; and 

 when in copulation they spread them ; but the female does not. 



The males are smaller than the females. The same with the lady- 

 birds of Barbadoes, both white and dark, which appear to be a species of 

 cockchafer. They are of the same size with ours. The males have 



