scavenger beetle

British

noun

any beetle of the mostly aquatic family Hydrophilidae, having clubbed antennae and long palps, and usually feeding on decaying vegetation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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scavenger beetle

See Insects. instincts of the scavenger beetle, 405.coco-nut beetle, 407.tortoise beetle, 408.

From Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon by Sir James Emerson Tennent

During the present spring a few specimens of a small scavenger beetle have been captured within the spathes of this plant….

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Neltje Blanchan

A pretty chief truly; you are like the scavenger beetle, and think of yourself only.

From A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries And of the Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864 by David Livingstone

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