BURYING-BEETLE. 
127 
ture, though in such a gay dress, being so foetid that one's 
hands smell for hours after handling him; and if he crawls 
on one's coat, or other garments not often washed, the 
smell continues for days. The whole tribe of burying- 
beetles lay their eggs in the bodies of dead animals, which, 
when possible, they bury for the purpose. In Russia, 
where death itself does not do away with distinctions, the 
poor people are buried but a few inches under ground, the 
coffin consisting of four boards roughly nailed together, 
and not particularly well fitted ; the operation of burying is 
often at the expense of the country, and therefore done from 
necessity, not love. This mode affords great satisfaction 
to the burying-beetles, as it saves them the labours of the 
gravedigger. They avail themselves of the bodies placed 
so nicely within their reach, and the graves are pierced 
with their holes in every direction ; at evening, hundreds 
of these beetles may be seen in the Russian burying- 
places, either buzzing about the graves, or sitting placidly 
at the mouths of their burrows, which lead into them. 
The burying-beetle in this country seldom finds so con- 
venient a provision for him, and he is under the necessity 
of taking much more trouble ; he sometimes avails himself 
of dead dogs and horses, but these are too great rarities to 
be his constant resort : the usual objects of his search are 
dead mice, rats, birds, frogs, and moles ; of these, a bird 
is most commonly obtained. In the neighbourhood of 
towns, every kind of garbage that is thrown out attracts 
these beetles as soon as it begins to smell ; and it is not 
unusual to see them settling in our streets, enticed by the 
grateful odour of such substances. 
The burying-beetles hunt in couples, male and female ; 
and when six or eight are found in a large animal, they 
