COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 
179 
often form a nearly solid club or knob. The spe- 
cies are provided with only two pair of palpi, one of 
them affixed to the maxillae, the other to the under 
lip. The joints of the tarsi are for the most part 
undivided. The most conspicuous and interesting 
genus which it contains is named Necrophorus, 
a term nearly corresponding in meaning to the 
English one Burying -beetle, and both of them re- 
ferring to a remarkable peculiarity in the manners 
of the insects. The females deposit their eggs in 
the decaying carcasses of moles, mice, and other 
small animals, which they previously bury for this 
purpose. To effect this operation, seemingly so 
disproportionate to their size and strength, two or 
three beetles generally unite their labours, and re- 
move the earth from beneath the dead body, which 
gradually sinks into the excavation. During this 
process they may be seen dragging at the object 
from below, and even mounting upon it as if to tread 
it into the grave. They labour at their task of inhu- 
mation with the most unwearied industry. According 
to Mr Gleditsh, who was the first to give an accurate 
account of the proceedings of these grave-diggers, 
four beetles were observed to inter in a very small 
space of earth, to which they were confined, no 
fewer than twelve carcasses, few of which were in- 
ferior in size to a mole. The object of all this so- 
licitude is the security and comfort of their young, 
as the carcass, which forms a nidus for the eggs, if 
left exposed, would run the risk of being devoured 
