BEETLES BURY BIRDS
NATURE’S GRAVEDIGGERS A party of little grave-diggers at the Zoo, London, are giving demonstrations of the useful work they do under natural conditions. There are five of these burying beetles, and they are periodically given the carcase of a rat to inter. A fullgrown specimen was buried by them to a depth of six inches in two days! When caught in the woods, the beetles were burying a blackbird. Their method is to patiently rake away the soil beneath the remains until these have sunk to a sufficient depth. Then the beetles lay their eggs in the carcase and cover it over with earth. The grubs, upon hatching, feed upon the body, thereby acting as scavengers. It is largely owing to the efforts of such beetles that the countryside is freed from the decomposing remains of the countless casualties which continually occur in nature.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNAK19270718.2.52
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Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 99, 18 July 1927, Page 7
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147BEETLES BURY BIRDS Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 99, 18 July 1927, Page 7
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