1963] 
Matthews — Behavior of Canthon 
85 
tendency to uphill rolling may also be simply explained by the fact 
that it is difficult to roll a ball sideways or downward on a slope 
without losing control of it. 
The length of time that a food ball is rolled before burial varies 
from two to 18 min and averages 9.5 min (16) (not “about an 
hour or more” as Lindquist states), and the distance rolled depends 
a great deal on terrain, of course; a heavily grassed or littered area 
impedes the progress of the beetle. The distance from the dropping 
that the food ball is rolled before burial varies from 15 to 830 cm, 
averaging 267 cm (19). This is not the straight-line distance, but 
that actually travelled by the beetle, as measured by tracing a line 
on the ground behind the beetle and measuring each twist and turn. 
It is evident that almost any spot will do for burial and the beetle 
is not “seeking” an ideal spot. It is not clear what factors prompt the 
beetle to begin burial, as both the time and distance rolled are very 
variable. 
Burial. When the time for burial has arrived the beetle will pause 
and dig a little in the soil under the ball. This is presumably to test 
the ground to see if it is suitable for burial. Usually (12 of 16), the 
very first spot tested is that where the ball is buried. Otherwise 
(4 of 16), one or two other spots are tested before the final burial 
place is chosen, the beetle resuming rolling after rejecting a spot. 
Burial takes place by pushing soil to the sides from under the ball 
in such a manner that the beetle sinks rapidly into the ground with 
the ball on top of it. The food ball is buried 1.5 — 4 cm below the 
surface, that is to say, at a very shallow depth (9). At Brunswick, 
Ga., where I measured soil temperatures at burial depth I found them 
to be only 1 — 9 0 C below the air temperature of 35 0 C ( 10) . 
Feeding. What happened after the food ball was buried was not 
directly observed, but some idea of the underground activity could 
be gained by unearthing different balls and beetles at varying intervals 
after burial. Fourteen such balls were dug up at intervals of 1 :35 to 
49:30 hrs after burial and indicated the following: The beetle may 
not begin to nibble at the ball up to 6:08 hrs after burial, but on the 
other hand it may have begun feeding at 1 :35 hrs or earlier. The 
Explanation of Plate 8 
Figs. 6-10 represent the directions in which balls were seen rolled in 
relation to three different environmental factors in all localities, to the 
nearest 45° angle. Total of beetles observed is 70. Each dot represents one 
observation in the given direction. Chi-square and corresponding probability 
figures for three degrees of freedom are given in each diagram. Further 
discussion in text. 
