Subject: glischrochilus?
Location: South East France, Drome
November 9, 2014 2:52 am
We found this bug in our garden, in South of France, Valance. We looked at the insect books but were unable to identify it. It is too big to be a glischrochilus. It is two centimeters long.
Signature: Aimee
Hello Aimee,
This is a Burying Beetle or Sexton Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus. A common European species is Nicrophorus vespillo which is pictured on TrekNature. The search out small dead animals like birds, mice or snakes, and then bury them after laying eggs. The developing larvae feed on the putrefying flesh.