Genus VIII. S1LFHA. 



GENERIC CHARACTER, 



Antenna clavated ; the club perfoliated. Ely- 

 tra margined ; Head prominent. Thorax flat- 

 tish and margined. 



General Observations. 



The Silphse are insects whose strong and dis- 

 agreeable smell indicates the places they in- 

 habit, and the substances upon which they 

 feed ; they, as well as many other insects, are 

 of use to absorb the putrid flesh and excremen- 

 titious substances, which might otherwise in- 

 fect the air. Their instinctive faculty leads 

 them eagerly to seek the dead bodies of small 

 animals, and it is singular to see them, attract- 

 ed from a considerable distance by the smell 

 of a putrid body, associate in their enterprize, 

 and combine their efforts, that they may peace- 

 ably enjoy the fruits of their labours. Corrup- 

 tion has scarcely commenced in a mole or a 

 mouse, and the smell become offensive, before 



