larvae on dead mole
October 29, 2009
These larvae were found on a dead mole that had been under a wheelbarrow about a month (October 4-October 27, 2009 in rural Central Missouri). I have a group of children who routinely explore the woods in this area and when we find a dead creature we place it under the wheelbarrow to watch the decay process. We have not encountered these worm like creatures before.
Millersburg Preschool
Rural Central Missouri
Sexton Beetle Larvae eating a dead mole
Dear Millersburg Preschool,
Though we write about them often, this is the first photo we have ever received of the larvae of a Sexton Beetle, one of the Burying Beetles in the genus Nicrophorus. We found a photo on BugGuide of the larvae of the endangered American Burying Beetle that is very close to your image. We cannot say for certain exactly what species in the genus Nicrophorus your larvae will become, but we are somewhat certain they are not the rare American Burying Beetle. A pair of Sexton Beetles will work burying the corpse of a small rodent or bird and then lay eggs. The adults often stay with the developing larvae and care for them.
Thank you for your quick response! The children will be so excited to know this!
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Posted 29 October 2009
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Who is this death muncher?
October 24, 2009
I’ve seen these guys a couple of times, the first time I ever saw them was among other bugs voraciously consuming a mole corpse who’s death had been basking in the summer heat for at least two days. They were the dominant insect in and on that corpse. His thorax reminds me Roman muscle armor… What is this odd little guy?
Eric, The Wild Man
willamette valley, along the columbia river. Oregon
Sexton Beetle
Hi Eric,
This is one of the Burying Beetles in the genus Nicrophorus that are known as Sexton Beetles. We expect it is the highly variable Nicrophorus defodiens. BugGuide has a nice array of images with some individuals possessing bold spotting, and others with subtle spotting like your specimen. Burying Beetles often work in pairs, burying small dead creatures, laying eggs on the carcass.
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Posted 24 October 2009
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Black beetle with large orange spots
October 9, 2009
Date: 8Oct09
Found beetle wandering around the lawn near cedar trees on damp dreary day. Took pictures and when sun warmed the bug, he flew away. Pictures show bug held by pine needle and with one wing unfolding.
Size: 2 cm long
Peter
46° 12.496′N; 79° 29.539′W
Sexton Beetle
Hi Peter,
This is a Sexton Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus, possibly Nicrophorus orbicollis. Sexton Beetles are sometimes called Burying Beetles.
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Posted 09 October 2009
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black and yellow bugs
August 13, 2009
I saw these guys munching on some strange mushroom-like growth that appeared on the edge of the woods. The fungi and the bugs seemed to have appeared overnight. The bugs were quick but did not leave the mushroom even when I harassed them with my close contact. What are they?
Linda
southcentral Kentucky
- Carrion Beetles
Dear Linda,
These are American Carrion Beetles, Necrophila americana. Both adults and larvae consume carrion and the maggots that are attracted to the rotting flesh, but we have received other reports associating them with mushrooms.
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Posted 14 August 2009
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What is this flying black bug with orange spots?
August 10, 2009
I’ve never seen a bug quite like this one, it flew into my house, and ended up landing on a washcloth, where I was able to get a picture. It was covered in tiny spiders so as soon as I got the picture I put the bug and the washcloth outside, but I’m still curious as to what it was exactly. It was 1-2 inches long, definitely had wings and three pairs of legs. Its antennae and legs were furry.
Thanks
Enumclaw, Washington
Sexton Beetle with Phoretic Mites
This is a Burying Beetle or Sexton Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus, but we cannot tell you the exact species. None of the examples posted to BugGuide illustrate four distinct red spots in a row across the elytra or wing covers. The Burying Beetle was transporting Mites, not spiders. The Mites use the Burying Beetle to travel from location to location, a phenomenon known as phoresy, in order to take advantage of flight to access a new food source. Burying Beetles will bury small dead creatures like birds or mice and lay eggs on the carcass. The young feed on the rotting flesh. The Mites feed on fly eggs and maggots, so phoresy is mutually advantageous to the Mites and the Burying Beetles. The Mites get a food source and the Burying Beetle benefits because more rotting flesh is available to its progeny. We will see if Eric Eaton can assist us in an exact species identification.
Update from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
I’m pretty sure this is just a variation of the sexton beetle Nicrophorus defodiens. It is highly variable in its markings, as evidenced by the individual specimens in the image gallery here:
http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/nicroweb/hatchabs/index.htm
I know I have seen very similar specimens from northwest Oregon, too.
Eric
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Posted 10 August 2009
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Unknown beach beetle
July 17, 2009
These beetles were discovered during horseshoe crab spawning season on Pickering Beach, Delaware. I’ve yet to find a good match in any of our bug books. We did collect one that looked very dead, but it crawled inside a crab carcass and hasn’t been seen since. Can you help with an ID?
I’ve been visiting periodically since last July when I identified and observed a grapevine beetle from July through the end of November.
LKStimeling
Pickering Beach, Delaware
Hastate Hide Beetles
Dear LKStimerling,
Were it not for the antennae on the individual on the far left, we would say that these are Carrion Beetles, more specifically, the Northern Carrion Beetle, Thanatophilus lapponicus. BugGuide has several images including some mounted specimens. One photo of a specimen from Alberta Canada is a dead ringer, but for the antennae. The individual in your photo on the far left most certainly has lamellate antennae which Comstock in our 1940 edition on page 41 defines as “the segments that compose the knob are extended on one side into broad plates.” On page 487 of the same volume under the family Silphidae, he writes: “The segments near the tip of the antennae form a compact club, which is neither comblike nor composed of thin movable plates; sometimes the antennae are nearly filiform.” Finding these beetles during the spawning of the horseshoe crab might be significant. Since Carrion Beetles are attracted to putrefying flesh, and since there is probably a bit of carnage during the mating, the presence of Carrion Beetles makes sense. Since we have pretty much decided that this if probably NOT a Northern Carrion Beetle, based on the antennae alone, we are stumped. The lamellate antennae are often found in the Scarabidae, but we aren’t happy with that ID either. We are forwarding this mystery to Eric Eaton to clean up. As a side note, we are thrilled that your photo includes what would seem to be a mating pair in the center, which qualifies this image for our Bug Love page.
Immediate Update
Immediately upon posting we decided to do additional research. We backtracked to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea that includes both Scarab Beetles and Carrion Beetles. There we found the family Trogidae, the Hide Beetles. We found our match, antennae and all, and now we need to try to determine the genus. Our frontrunner is Omorgus scabrosus, based on the drawing of the scutellum by Phil Harpootlian on the family page on BugGuide. That would make this a Hastate Hide Beetle. Since they are found on carrion in the late stages of decomposition, all that we stated earlier regarding the presence at the Horseshoe Crab spawning holds true. Since our archiving taxonomy is sketchy at best, we will be filing this with the Carrion Beetles.
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Posted 17 July 2009
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Tagged: bug love
Identification
July 14, 2009
The other day i was sitting in my basement when an insect (6 legs) landed on me. mostly black with red dots, large wings and when i brushed it off of me it then emitted a horrendous smell that was so bad i had to change
n/a
southeast missouri
Pustulated Carrion Beetle: skewered
Dear n/a,
This is a Pustulated Carrion Beetle, Nicrophorus pustulatus. It is one of the Burying Beetles. BugGuide reports: “Reported to be a brood parasite of other Nicrophorus (1). Also reported to parasitize the eggs of Black Rat Snakes–see Ecoscience 7 (4) : 395-397 (2000). The beetle larvae destroy the snake eggs, thus, the beetle would qualify as a parasitoid, a relationship usually seen only among invertebrates.” It appears that this Pustulated Carrion Beetle has been skewered, and we don’t believe it is to enter an insect collection, which would probably qualify it as unnecessary carnage. In the scheme of things, the beetle stinking you up so you had to change your shirt is not as troublesome as you ending its life as payback.
Snake Eater
Sun, Jul 5, 2009 at 6:44 AM
I found these guys in my yard. They were feasting on the carcass of a red bellied water snake, but I have also seen them eating a copperhead carcass earlier this year. I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. My yard is in the outer limits of 30 year old subdivision near a lake, several creeks, with an undeveloped heavy woodland/wetland area of over 2000 acres adjoining the property. These photos were taken on July 4, 2009 at around 8:30 pm. They have been devouring this snake carcass for about 5 days now. They appear to be about 1 inch in length. They are black with white paterns on their neck. They have a broad back with black wings and are capable of flight. They seem to have a small black tail extending beyond their wings
I have lived in this area for 35 years and I have never seen these insects prior to this year. At first I thought they had white skulls on their backs, but now with the detail of photos I can see it is a different creepy pattern. So, what are these things?
Bugging Out
Raleigh, NC
American Carrion Beetles
Dear Bugging Out,
Your visitors are American Carrion Beetles, Necrophila americana. BugGuide indicates that they eat maggots and carrion and states that they are: ” Found on carrion and decaying fungi. Larvae eat carrion, larvae of flies and other carrion beetles. Eggs are laid singly on or near carrion. They prefer larger carrion, Milne (4)states “rat-sized or larger”. Larvae hatch in a few days, feed in or under carcass, and pupate in a nearby soil cell. Larvae may prefer dried skin, bits of flesh after maggots have departed. Adults overwinter. “ Over the years, we have gotten numerous reports of them being associated with the corpses of snakes, but we have also gotten photos of them with the carcasses of mammals and molluscs, and even photos of them feeding on fungus.
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Posted 06 July 2009
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Big Flying Black Bee/Beetle with orange markings on it’s back
Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 3:19 PM
Was in my garage and killed what I thought was a HUGE bee looking insect. It could fly and was about 1.25″ long. Upon closer examination, it was much fatter than a bee or a wasp, had really long antenna that it moved independently was solid black except for 4 distinct orange boxes on it’s thorax which was like a little shield sitting on it’s shoulders and was about 1/4 of the insects length. It sate above the lower half of the insects abdomen which appeared to me like the thorax of a big wasp. What the heck was that!!!
Kevin
Mukilteo, Washington
Sexton Beetle (artist's rendition)
Dear Kevin,
We are totally charmed and amused with your artistic rendering of what we are 99 & 44/100% sure is a species of Sexton Beetle or Burying Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus. A pair of Sexton Beetles is capable of burying a small corpse like that of a mouse in a short period of time. According to BugGuide, the Sexton Beetles exhibit “Remarkable parental care of larvae. Adults bury a small (usually) carcass, lay eggs in it, and stay with it, feeding the young on regurgitated carrion. (Yumm!).” Since we are on holiday planting tomatoes in Ohio, we are preparing your letter in advance to post live to our site Sunday at noon. We will be including a photo sent to us by C.J. last year of a Sexton Beetle.
Sexton Beetle
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Posted 07 June 2009
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English Beetle in Cumbria
Tue, May 26, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Hello Bug Expert,
We found this beetle on a fell top here in Cumbria (the English Lake District) on a summers day. There were two of these in a small field vole corpse and when disturbed they made a peculiar hissing noise that seems to emanate from their wings? They are quick burrowers and quite hard to photograph very well. Can you identify it please?
Stephen Lainson
Great Stickle, Cumbria, English Lake District
Sexton Beetle
Dear Stephen,
This is a Sexton Beetle or Burying Beetle. It is probably in the genus Nicrophorus like similar beetles in North America. We haven’t the time right now to try to identify the exact species. The pair were burying the vole corpse where they will lay their eggs. A pair of Burying Beetles can bury a small corpse in a very short period of time.
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Posted 26 May 2009
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Cluster of mating black and yellow bugs in Delaware
Mon, May 11, 2009 at 1:55 PM
I stumbled upon this mass of mating beetles (maybe they aren’t beetles) inside and on top of a rotting snake at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. Just curious as to what they are since I’ve never seen them before.
D. Fiero
Delaware
Carrion Beetles
Dear D.,
While it is difficult for us to ascertain from your photograph that mating is occurring, it is very obvious that a group of American Carrion Beetles, Necrophila americana, is feasting on the dead snake. We will trust your powers of observation in the matter. Insects might be the original multi-taskers. While multi-tasking might not be terribly efficient for humans in the computer age as evidenced by the documented numbers of automobile accidents that have occurred during cellular telephone calls and texting, trying to compete more than one task at a time is here to stay. Getting back to the American Carrion Beetles, the rotting snake will also provide a food source for larval beetles, so mating while feeding would be a logical behavior. According to BugGuide, the American Carrion Beetle’s habitat is “marshy and forested areas.” BugGuide also indicates: “Adults consume fly larvae (maggots) at carrion, as well as some carrion,” which would be a good way to ensure that there is more food for the developing beetle larvae.
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Posted 12 May 2009
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Tagged: bug love
Here is the picture of the beetles we need to ID…
Not sure is this is a male female pair as they look a little different.
Thank you…and a big thank you for the web site you sent we are enjoying it.
Jeffrey & Margaret
Dear Jeffrey and Margaret,
You have a species of Carrion or Burying Beetle, Family Silphidae. According to the Dillons, they are “Usually large, loosely constructed beetles, that have the body black, sometimes ornamented with yellow or red. … Decaying animal matter, especially dead birds, mice, and snakes, is the usual habitat of these species, though some occur on decaying fungi. The eggs are deposited in the bodies of small mammals or fragments of decaying flesh, which are then buried by the adults to a depth of from several inches to a foot. Two beetles working together can bury a mouse or other small animal very rapidly.” Eric writes to us that: “The burying or carrion beetles are Necrodes surinamensis, male on left with the enlaged hind legs, female on the right.”
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Posted 25 December 2003
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