Nicrophorus
Guides
Macrocheles
Macrocheles is a genus of mites in the family Macrochelidae, containing over 80 described species. Members of this genus are primarily known for their phoretic associations with insects, particularly flies and beetles, though some species exhibit facultative or obligate parasitism. Research on Macrocheles muscaedomesticae has provided important insights into the evolutionary origins of parasitism from free-living ancestors. Species in this genus occupy diverse habitats including carrion, dung, decaying plant matter, and necrotic cacti, often following their insect hosts to these ephemeral resources.
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 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-MexicoNevadaTexasUtahIowadecompositioncarrionNicrophorusbeetleColeopterainsectarthropodPoecilochirus
Carrion Beetle Mites
Poecilochirus is a Holarctic genus of relatively large mites (0.5–1 mm) in the family Parasitidae. They are phoretic symbionts of burying beetles (Silphidae: Nicrophorus), using beetles for transport to vertebrate carcasses where they feed and reproduce. The genus exhibits extensive cryptic diversity, with molecular studies identifying 24 genetic clusters potentially representing distinct species. Their interaction with beetle hosts is context-dependent, ranging from antagonistic (egg predation, competition) to potentially mutualistic (preying on fly eggs and nematodes).