Salmon-carcass-utilization
Guides
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.