COLEOPTERA. 469 
then mount it, cast the earth down into the grave so as to 
fill it, and the females lay their egos in the tomb, where the 
larvee will find an abundance of food. When the ground is too 
hard to be dug, the Necrophori push the carcass further, till 

Fig. 454.—Hister rugosus. Fig. 455.—Silpha quadripunctata. Fig. 456.—Silpha 
thoracica. 
they find permeable soil. A mole has been run through with 
a stick, or else tied by a string, to see how the Necrophori would 
get over the difficulty. They scooped out the soil underneath 
the stick, and cut through the string, and the mole was buried in 

Fig. 457.—Necrodes littoralis Fig. 458.—Necrodes littoralis Fig. 459.—Necrodes lacry- 
(male), (female). mosa, 
spite of the obstacles. Fig. 460 represents a troop of Necrophori 
burying a small rat. 
The Necrophorus vespillo (Fig. 461) is variegated with yellow 
and black; the Necrophorus germanicus (Fig. 462) is larger, quite 
black, and rarer. All these insects exhale a disagreeable musky 
smell. Their bodies are often covered with parasites, which 

