Smelly Beetle ??
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon
August 25, 2011 4:53 pm
Hello Bugman!
A co-worker of mine found this beetle in his boot. Never seen one like this before up here. He had a bad smell to him. I caught him in a cup and took him home, then release him on a Sunflower in the yard and took some pictures. I hope my pictures are clear enough to help!
Maybe you can help Identify him for me ?
Signature: -Kla

Sexton Beetle

Dear Kayla,
This is a Burying Beetle or Sexton Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus.  A sexton, a somewhat obsolete profession, was a church custodian who cared for the church grounds, including the cemetery, and who was frequently charged with digging graves.  Sexton Beetles bury small dead animals that the beetle larvae feed upon.  Sometimes a pair of Burying Beetles will guard a small animal corpse after burying it, guarding it against other carrion feeders and caring for the young in the process.  Perhaps the Burying Beetle your co-worker encountered had just finished burying a corpse.  You can compare your individual to the species of Burying Beetles that are represented on BugGuide. 

Thank you so much Daniel.  Its nice to finally know what he is.
thanks again.
Kayla

Unintended Carnage

Carrion Beetles trapped in Cat Food Can

Unintended Carnage
Location: San Luis Obispo County, CA
July 8, 2011 1:33 am
Dear Bugman,
I have enjoyed your site and for many years. I am a wildlife biologist in San Luis Obispo County, California. For the last 2 years I have been using camera traps to take images of various carnivores that inhabit state lands. Pierced catfood cans are sometimes used to entice critters to come to the cameras. When I recently checked a camera, I found that a couple of beetles committed suicide trying to get at the rotting catfood inside. I think they are black carrion beetles (Nicrophorus nigrita). Sorry for the poor pictures. They were long dead and it was hard to get the dried catfood off of them. I guess the holes I made in the can were just slightly too small… I will make the holes bigger next time.
Signature: Craig Fiehler

Carrion Beetles trapped in Cat Food Can

Dear Craig,
At your suggestion, we will tag this as Unnecessary Carnage, though since this accident occurred in the interest of science, we consider it unfortunate, but excusable.  Your photos are positively surreal.  Thanks for your submission.  We are intrigued with your wildlife camera set up.

Carrion Beetle Corpse

Dear Daniel,
We have been camera trapping the Chimineas Ranch in San Luis Obispo county for almost 2 years now.  Much of our exploits have been described on Dr. Chris Wemmer’s blog, Camera Trap Codger.
http://cameratrapcodger.blogspot.com/
I hope you enjoy some of the wildlife shots.
I also want to say “thank you!” for your tireless efforts to educate the public about arthropods.  I have been enlightened by your website and your book was a joy to read.  I have been trying to educate myself about insects and arachnids that inhabit the areas where I work.   Needless to say, I have much to learn.  But I can honestly say, I learn something new from you site every week.  Keep up the great work!
Best wishes,
Craig Fiehler

Thanks for the update Craig.  We are linking to Dr. Chris Wemmer’s blog and we are thrilled you enjoyed reading The Curious World of Bugs.

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ID for this handsome beetle?
Location:  Paso Robles, California
Date:     January 5, 2011 1:15:56 PM PST
he was in our bathroom at paso robles on fake flowers… (oaks and chapparal outside).
i loved his red antenna ends (for which i expect there is a technical term!).
Clare Marter Kenyon

Black Burying Beetle

Hi Clare,
What died in your bathroom?  This appears to be a Black Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus nigrita, one of the Sexton Beetles.  Burying Beetles mate and then share the responsibility of burying small animals like mice upon which they lay eggs.  Both parents then care for and guard the young as they feed on the putrefying flesh.  The antennae are clavate or clubbed (see BugGuide).

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larva eats snail
June 25, 2010
On 22 June morning I went to shoot macro.
I made these interesting images of larvae feeding on a snail.
It looks like a grave-digger of the larva or grub of Firefly, but I’m not sure.
Please help to identify the larvae!
Dean Petkov
Bulgaria, Burgas

Possibly Silphid Larva Feeding upon Snail

Hello Dean,
We believe you are probably correct, though we would not rule out the larva of one of our favorite immigrant beetles in Los Angeles, a Rove Beetle known as a Devil’s Coach Horse, Ocypus olens.  Alas, the structure of antennae is not visible in your visually compellingly symmetrical photograph, a study in simplicity and circular composition, and the structure of antennae are frequently used to key out specimens into their taxonomic families, genera and even species.  The Devil’s Coach Horse is a magnificent beetle that we believe feeds upon snails.  A photo on Flickr identified as the larva of Ocypus olens does not look like your predator, so we would favor the Firefly hypothesis.  Perhaps we will get some assistance on this identification.
On a more personal level, my paternal grandfather came from Bulgaria, but his name (hence my name) was changed at Ellis Island.

Probably Silphid Larva feeding upon a Snail

Update
Mardikavana provided us with a comment indicating that this is not a Coach Horse Larva nor a Firefly Larva, and that it might be a Silphid Larva.  It has been our understanding that Silphid Beetles are not predators, but scavengers that feed upon carrion.

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