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and pierce the skin ; next follow the flesh-flies some (Sarcophaga), so that no time may be 

 lost, having the remarkable characteristic of depositing their young alive ; others covering 

 it with millions of eggs, whence in a day or two proceed innumerable devourers. An idea 

 of the despatch made by these gourmands may be gained from the combined considera- 

 tions of their numbers, voracity, and rapid development. One female of Sarcophaga 

 carinaria will give birth to 20,000 young ; and the larv^se of many flesh-flies, as Redi 

 ascertained, will, in twenty-four hours, devour so much food, and grow so quickly, as to 

 increase their weight two hundred-fold. In five days after being hatched they arrive at 

 their full growth and size, which is a remarkable instance of the care of Providence in 

 fitting them for the part they are destined to act : for if longer time were required for 

 their growth, their food would not be a fit aliment for them, or they would be too long 

 in removing the nuisance it is given in charge to them to dissipate." 



As soon as the various tribes of flies have opened the way, and devoured the softer 

 parts, a whole host of beetles actively second their labours. Wasps, hornets and ants 

 claim a share, and before long what was a putrifying mass is only a heap of dry bones, 

 which are soon covered by decaying vegetables and soil thrown up by worms. 



Of these scavenger-beetles, none, perhaps, are more interesting than the Necrophori 

 or Sexton Beetles, or, as their name denotes, corpse-bearers, in allusion to the singular 

 habit possessed by all the beetles of this genus. They are not content with merely 

 eating their food when they find a supply, but lay eggs in it and then bury it so that no 

 other insects may get it, but that it may be a provision for their future progeny. 



These insects may easily be known ; they are almost all bright coloured, being of a 

 shinino: black, ornamented with brisfht orange markings and fulvous- 

 down underneath, the under side of the elytra is often of a bright 

 yellow colour, which is very conspicuous when they are flying, these 

 organs then being held erect. They fly and run with great rapidity. 

 When flying they are very difficult to distinguish from Humble-Bees, 

 and have very much the same oscillating mode of flying backwards and 

 forwards before any one trying to catch them. The antennae are very 

 peculiar, consisting of a slender jointed stem, bearing at its end a round 

 nob composed of four flattened joints joined together. There are several 

 Represents one species found in Canada, the largest and handsomest of which is Necro- 

 of our com- phorus Americanus, Oliv. I have never been able to observe this species 

 monest species working ; but some of the other species may be Basily watched if a trap 

 Vdutmus). " them in the shape of some small animal or bird 



The rapidity with which these small creatures will bury a bird many 

 times larger and heavier than themselves, is astonishing. They seem, too, to be gifted 

 with the same instinct as the vulture, for although they are very seldom found hidden 

 like other insects, no sooner is a small dead animal exposed than some of these insects 

 very soon appear, and, after a short survey of the " subject," soon commence operations. 

 If the ground is soft and suitable, they begin at once by making a furrow all round, 

 about the length of their bodies from the animal ; the greater part of this work of 

 burying is said to be performed by the male, but I have been unable to verify this. 

 They nearly always work at night, and stop and run under the body whenever a light is 

 brought near them. As soon as the first furrow is completed, another is begun inside 

 this, and the earth is then pushed out into the outside one ; the next furrow is beneath 

 the body, and the progress can be marked by the earth that is pushed out all round it 

 from underneath. There is a good deal of running about and iiispecting all the time the 

 work is going on, and frequently the workmen will refresh themselves with a meal from 

 the object of their attentions, after which they will take a rest and then will start again, 

 and work away until nothing is visible. They are not even then content, for they will 

 sink small bodies to the depth of a foot from the surface. In this storehouse they 

 deposit their eggs, and then leave them to take care of themselves, and set ofi" in quest 

 of more work to do. If by chance the object they wish to bury is in an unsuitable 

 place, they will accomplish comparatively enormous feats rather than, give up the object. 

 Last summer, I noticed one evening a dead swallow lying on a stone pavement close 

 against a building. As I passed I pushed it up against the wall so as to be out of the 



