fastened to trees and leaves; but as in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred its home is subterranean, it will here be considered as one of the burrowers.

The section of the nest which is presented to the reader will give a very good idea of its general structure. There are generally some five or six entrances to the nest, but they are so ingeniously hidden under stones, clods of earth, and any object which can shelter them, that they would not be detected by a casual passenger. The few upper passages or galleries are extremely irregular, often having a zigzag direction, and being of no very great length. Those at a greater depth, however, are much more regular in their structure, and when they are driven at some three or four feet from the surface, they are large in diameter, cylindrical, and extend to a considerable distance. In the nest of the British species, Formica fusca, there is a somewhat similar structure; and although the ant is so small, these tunnels are sometimes an inch in diameter, and five feet or even more in length. Into these deep-set galleries, the tropical ants retire during the rainy season, and in our own country the insects may be found in them throughout the cold months of winter.

Near the surface of the ground, the reader may observe several enlargements of the galleries, forming spacious chambers. In these chambers the ants are accustomed to lay the white pupa as well as the eggs, in order that they may be warmed by the sun, without enduring the full fury of his beams. At night, if rain should come on, the vigilant workers take up their helpless charges, and convey them to hiding-places far beneath the surface. If, during the months of April or May, the nest of the Dusky Ant be opened, a very curious state of things will be disclosed. Within the chamber may be seen a vast mass of pupæ and their attendant ants; and, what is still more remarkable, specimens of certain beetles may also be found in company with the ants.

There are several species of British beetles which are never seen in any other localities, and, until their singular mode of life was discovered, were ranked among the rarest of our insects. No less than thirty-seven species of ant's-nest-beetles have already been acknowledged, besides the larvæ of three other species. One very rare species of the Staphylinidæ, or Cocktail

beetle (Atemeles emarginatus), has now become quite common, so frequently is it found in the nest of the ant which is now under consideration. The locality of this beetle was discovered. by a collector, who saw an ant carrying one of the beetles into its nest. As to the beetles themselves, they seem to be quite as much at home as the ants, and when the nest is laid open, their first attempt is to escape into the farthest galleries, or to hide themselves in the nearest crevice. The ants, however, watch them carefully, run after them, seize them in their jaws, and carry them back again into the nests.

CHAPTER VIII.

BURROWING BEETLES.

The TIGER BEETLE, and its habits-Beauty of the Insect, its Larva, and mode of life-Curious form of its Burrow-The SEXTON BEETLE and its power of digging in the ground-The DOR BEETLE-Its polished surface, and the substances into which it Burrows-Use of the Dor Beetle-The SCARABÆUS of Egypt and its wonderful Instincts-The Egg, the Grub, and the CocoonCocoon in the British Museum-The MOLE CRICKET, its form and elaborate Dwelling-Its general Habits, and wide distribution. The FIELD CRICKET, and its Tunnels-Structure of the Ovipositor-The MIGRATORY LOCUST and its development-The ANT LION, its form, food, and mode of life-The Pitfall and its structure-Mode of catching Prey-Perfect form of the Ant Lion.

We now come to the Burrowing Beetles, of which there are no few species. As is the case with the generality of insects, the subterranean habitations which they excavate are seldom intended for their own use-at all events, after they have attained their perfect form; but are either formed by the parent while preparing a home for the young brood which it will never see, or by the larva itself while feeding, or while forming a cell in which it can lie dormant in the pupal state.

FIRST among the British coleoptera comes the lovely TIGER BEETLE (Cicindela Campestris), an insect which, though small, can challenge comparison with the most beautiful exotic specimens. It is the fiercest, handsomest, and most active of all the British coleoptera, using legs and wings with equal agility, running or flying with such speed that its form cannot be clearly defined, and settling on the ground or taking to wing with equal ease. As it darts through the air, the burnished surface of the abdomen flashes in the sunbeams as if a living gem had passed by, earning for its owner the popular title of Sparkler Beetle.

This insect is, or rather has been, a mighty burrower, exhibit

ing, even in its larval condition, something of that fiery energy which actuates it when it has reached its perfect condition. Sandy banks are the chief resorts of the Tiger Beetle, which in this country seenis seldom or never to alight upon trees, restricting itself to bare and sandy soil. It even avoids those spots which are covered with grass and herbage, cares nothing for shade, and delights to settle upen banks with a southern aspect, and to run about upon soil that has been rendered so hot by the sun that the bare haud can hardly endure contact with its surface. In America, however, the Tiger Beetles possess different habits, preferring trees to the ground, and either running about on the trunk or darting from leaf to leaf in search of their prey. The English entomologist, however, who wishes to find this beetle, must look for it on the ground; and near the spots which the adult beetles traverse so rapidly may be found the larva in its burrow.

These larvæ are most remarkable beings. They are whitish in colour, and strangely moulded in form, the head being of enormous size, and of a horny consistency, and the eighth segment developed into a hump-like projection, carrying upon its upper surface a pair of bent hooks. The larva never is seen above the surface of the ground, and, indeed, never exhibits more than the smooth horny head and mandibles. It lives in perpendicular burrows, about a foot in depth, which it is able to traverse with great rapidity, and which are only just of sufficient diameter to permit the inhabitant to pass up and down.

It is a carnivorous being, feeding chiefly on insects, which it is able to capture, in spite of the apparent disadvantage under which it labours of being confined to one spot. The mode by which it obtains its daily food is as follows. Ascending to the upper portion of its burrow, it fixes itself firmly by means of its hooks, and then lays its jaws level with the soil. While in this attitude, it is almost invisible, and as soon as an insect passes by the ambushed larva, the sickle-like jaws grasp it, and it is dragged to the bottom of the tunnel, where it is devoured. Not only is the larva carnivorous, but it is combative in proportion to its voracity, and if a straw be thrust into its burrow, the angry grub will fasten upon it with the tenacious gripe of a bull-dog, and suffer itself to be dragged out of its home rather than release its supposed enemy.

The burrow is made by the larva, and not by the parent, and is a work of some little time, the earth being loosened by means of the feet and jaws, and then carried to the surface on the flattened head.

OTHER beetles are in the habit of driving deep tunnels into the ground, wherein may be deposited the eggs which are destined to produce a fresh brood in the ensuing season. Our own country can boast of possessing many such beetles, but in the hotter parts of the world their number is quite wonderful.

Our first example will be the well-known SEXTON, or BURYING BEETLES, some of which may be seen at work at the left hand of the plate, busily engaged in burying the dead bird. There are several species of Burying Beetles; but as their habits are very similar, they need not be separately described. Any one who wishes to see them at work may do so by taking a dead mouse, bird, or piece of meat, and laying it on a soft spot of ground. I was about to add the frog to the number of objects for sepulture, but have omitted that creature because the porous nature of its skin causes it to dry up so rapidly, that the beetle will seldom take the trouble of burying it.

Sometimes, but very rarely, a pair of the beetles will come to the bait by daylight, their wide wings bearing them along with great speed; but in general they prefer night as the time to begin their work. If the bird be visited in the early morning, it will be no longer upon the surface of the ground, but will be half sunken below it, as though the earth had given way, just as a piece of dark cloth sinks into snow. If, however, the bird be removed, the cause of its gradual disappearance will be seen in the form of one or two beetles, sometimes black, and sometimes beautifully barred with orange. Then let the bird be replaced, and a trowel carefully introduced under it, so that the bird. and beetles can be gently transferred to a vessel of earth and covered with a glass shade.

During the day, the beetles will mostly remain quiet; but in the evening they begin to be active. To dig a hole, and then to drag the bird into it, would be a task far beyond their powers, and they therefore employ another plan. They entirely burrow beneath the bird, emerging every now and then to scrape out