Burying-beetle
Guides
Nicrophorus americanus
American burying beetle, giant carrion beetle
Nicrophorus americanus is a federally threatened burying beetle endemic to North America and the largest member of its genus. Adults are nocturnal, strong fliers capable of traveling up to one kilometer per night while searching for carrion. The species exhibits elaborate biparental care, with both sexes cooperating to locate, bury, and prepare vertebrate carcasses for their offspring. Once abundant across 35 U.S. states and parts of Canada, it now occupies less than 10% of its historic range due to habitat loss, carrion scarcity, and other factors.
Nicrophorus defodiens
Boreal Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus defodiens is a burying beetle species first described by Mannerheim in 1846. It is one of at least two burying beetle species known to breed in the forest canopy. The species exhibits communal breeding behavior, where multiple male-female associations share parental care duties on larger vertebrate carcasses. It produces approximately twice as many eggs as the related N. orbicollis, with clutch sizes averaging around 24 eggs.
Nicrophorus guttula
Yellow-bellied Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus guttula is a burying beetle in the family Staphylinidae, described by Russian entomologist Victor Motschulsky in 1845. The species is commonly known as the Yellow-bellied Burying Beetle and is found across western North America from Alaska to Mexico. It exhibits elaborate parental care behaviors, including burying small carcasses and cooperatively feeding larvae. Research at the Bodega Marine Reserve has examined how carcass moisture and competition affect its reproductive success.
Nicrophorus hybridus
hybrid burying beetle
Nicrophorus hybridus is a burying beetle species in the family Silphidae, described by Melville Hatch and John W. Angell in 1925. The species occurs across western and central North America, from Canada through the western United States. Like other members of the genus Nicrophorus, it specializes on small vertebrate carcasses for reproduction and exhibits parental care behaviors. The specific epithet 'hybridus' refers to its intermediate morphological characteristics between related species.
Nicrophorus investigator
Banded Sexton Beetle, Banded Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus investigator is a burying beetle first described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1824. It is an obligate carrion breeder that buries small vertebrate carcasses for rearing offspring, exhibiting biparental care. Population dynamics are tightly linked to small mammal abundance, with preferred carcass sizes of 16–48 grams. The species has also been documented breeding on Pacific salmon carcasses in coastal British Columbia, where it may exhibit communal breeding on this rich, reliable resource. It serves as a host for phoretic mites that discriminate among individual male beetles.
Nicrophorus marginatus
margined sexton beetle, margined burying beetle, red and black burying beetle
Nicrophorus marginatus is a burying beetle in the family Silphidae, described by Fabricius in 1801. Adults are medium-sized beetles, 12–28 mm in length, with distinctive shiny black bodies and red-orange elytral bands. The species exhibits extreme physiological sensitivity to desiccation, losing 1–5% body mass per hour in low humidity conditions, yet maintains diurnal activity patterns and extends into arid habitats through behavioral thermoregulation. Like other Nicrophorus species, it engages in complex biparental care, burying small vertebrate carcasses and provisioning larvae with regurgitated, pre-digested food.
Nicrophorus mexicanus
Mexican burying beetle
Nicrophorus mexicanus is a burying beetle in the family Silphidae, described by Matthews in 1888. The species is distributed across the southwestern United States and Central America, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. As a member of the genus Nicrophorus, it exhibits the characteristic behavior of burying small vertebrate carcasses to serve as food for developing larvae.
burying-beetlecarrion-beetleSilphidaeNicrophorinaeMatthews-1888scavengervertebrate-carcassparental-caresouthwestern-United-StatesCentral-AmericaMexicoGuatemalaEl-SalvadorHondurasArizonaCaliforniaColoradoKansasNew-MexicoNevadaTexasUtahIowadecompositioncarrionNicrophorusbeetleColeopterainsectarthropodNicrophorus nigrita
Black Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus nigrita, the black burying beetle, is a species of carrion beetle described by Mannerheim in 1843. It is distinguished from other Nearctic burying beetles by its uniformly black elytra lacking the typical orange or red markings found in congeners. Adults range from 12–28 mm in length and possess distinctive red-orange antennal clubs. The species occurs along the western coast of North America.
Nicrophorus pustulatus
Pustulated Carrion Beetle, Blistered Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus pustulatus is a North American burying beetle distinguished by its unique ecology among congeners. Unlike typical carrion beetles that bury small vertebrate carcasses underground, this species is a canopy specialist that has undergone a remarkable host shift to exploit snake eggs as a primary breeding resource. It is the only described Nicrophorus species demonstrated to function as a true parasitoid of vertebrates, attacking live reptile eggs. Adults are medium-sized (14.0–22.2 mm), predominantly black with distinctive orange elytral spots, and lack the long dorsal setae characteristic of related species. The species exhibits flexible social mating systems and facultative parental care.
Nicrophorus tomentosus
Gold-necked carrion beetle, Tomentose burying beetle
Nicrophorus tomentosus is a burying beetle (family Silphidae) distinguished by a dense patch of golden-yellow setae on the pronotum. Unlike most congeners, it does not completely bury carcasses; instead, it excavates shallow pits beneath small vertebrate remains and covers them with leaf litter. Adults exhibit biparental care, feeding larvae regurgitated carrion. The species is active from May through October, peaking in July and August, and overwinters as prepupae—a trait unique among sympatric Nicrophorus species. Behavioral dominance in competitive interactions is determined primarily by body size rather than species identity.
Nicrophorus vespilloides
Lesser Vespillo Burying Beetle
Nicrophorus vespilloides is a burying beetle in the family Silphidae, characterized by its distinctive orange-yellow elytral bands and black antennae. The species exhibits facultative biparental care, with both parents cooperating to locate, bury, and prepare small vertebrate carcasses as food resources for their larvae. This species serves as a prominent model organism for studying social immunity, parental care, and the evolution of complex social behaviors in insects. It has a Holarctic distribution spanning northern Eurasia and North America, with documented associations with phoretic mites and nematodes that influence its fitness and reproduction.