Mr. Kullchaw. "Good gracious, children, you must not think of bringing such a forlorn-looking cur as that in the house!"
Fanny. "Oh, but, Papa dear, when he is washed and mended, I think he'll look real nice, and we can exhibit him at the Dog Show."
New Hartford, Connecticut.
Last summer our big cat caught a rat. It was one of the largest rats I ever saw. The cat did not eat it, but left it on the lawn dead. The next day we noticed the rat did not look nearly as large, and upon going to it, we saw that it was half buried, and was being slowly pulled down by something. On looking closely, we discovered several large black beetles, spotted with yellow, working under the rat; and in thirty-six hours from the time it was left there, they buried it all out of sight except a little bit of its tail.
Can any one tell me why the beetles did this?
Hallie A. S.
The beetles which buried the rat belonged to the family of carrion beetles known as Silphidæ. They live in the ground, and have feet fitted for digging. They eat all kinds of filth and dead animals, and on this account are sometimes called scavengers. Those whose work relieved your lawn of the dead rat belonged to the branch of the Silphidæ family called burying or sexton beetles. The instinct of these bugs is very remarkable. They scent a dead mouse or any small animal from afar, and at once proceed to secure the prize. If the ground where it lies is rocky, and too hard for their little feet to work in, an army of them fasten on the body, and drag it to a softer place. Then they work underneath, as you saw them do, until they sink their prey, and can cover it away from the air and sun, which would soon dry it, and make it unfit for their food. The sexton beetles lay their eggs in the little dead body they have buried, so that when the tiny grubs are hatched, their food is all ready for them. The common carrion beetles have strong teeth, and can eat almost any animal substance, no matter if it is very hard and dry, but the sexton beetles can only eat very soft things, and their little grubs would die had not Nature, who cares for the least of her children, endowed them with this wonderful instinct to provide suitable food and protection for their young.