Burying beetle

{{short description|Genus of beetles}} {{use dmy dates|cs1-dates=ly|date=April 2023}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Cenomanian|Recent}} | image = Nicrophorus americanus, American Burying Beetle (female) — walking.jpg | image_caption = American burying beetle (''Nicrophorus americanus'') | image2 = Nicrophorus interruptus side.jpg | image2_caption = Nicrophorus interruptus | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Nicrophorus | authority = Fabricius, 1775 | type_species = ''Silpha vespillo'' | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | synonyms = {{Collapsible list | * ''Acanthopsilus'' Poole, 1996 * ''Canthopsilus'' Portevin, 1914 * ''Cyrtoscelis'' Hope, 1840 * ''Eunecrophorus'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Nechrocharis'' Poole, 1996 * ''Necroborus'' Weigel, 1806 * ''Necrocharis'' Portevin, 1923 * ''Necrocleptes'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Necrophagas'' Leach, 1815 * ''Necrophagus'' Poole, 1996 * ''Necrophorindus'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Necrophoriscus'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Necrophorus'' Illiger, 1798 * ''Necrophorus'' Thunberg, 1789 * ''Necropter'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Necroxenus'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Neirophorus'' Berthold, 1827 * ''Neonicrophorus'' Hatch, 1946 * ''Nesonecrophorus'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Nesonecropter'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 * ''Nigrophorus'' Fabricius, 1787 * ''Stictonecropter'' Semenov-Tian-Shanskiy, 1933 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref>[https://www.gbif.org/species/1038957 GBIF: ''Nicrophorus'' Fabricius, 1775 (retrieved 13 January 2020)]</ref> }}

'''Burying beetles''' or '''sexton beetles''', genus '''''Nicrophorus''''', are the best-known members of the beetle subfamily Silphinae (carrion beetles). Most of these beetles are black with red markings on the elytra (forewings). Burying beetles are true to their name—they bury the carcasses of small vertebrates such as birds and rodents as a food source for their larvae; this makes them carnivorous.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=Michelle Pellissier |date=January 1998 |title=The Ecology and Behavior of Burying Beetles |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=595–618 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.43.1.595 |pmid=15012399 |issn=0066-4170}}</ref> They are unusual among insects in that both the male and female parents take care of the brood.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Trumbo |first=Stephen T. |date=1990 |title=Reproductive Benefits of Infanticide in a Biparental Burying Beetle ''Nicrophorus orbicollis'' |jstor=4600477 |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=269–273 |doi=10.1007/BF00164899 |issn=0340-5443}}</ref><ref name=catlife/>

The genus name is sometimes spelled ''Necrophorus'' in older texts: this was an unjustified emendation by Carl Peter Thunberg (1789) of Fabricius's original name, and is not valid under the ICZN.

The American burying beetle (''Nicrophorus americanus'') has been on the U.S. endangered species list since 1989. This species was native to 35 U.S. states but now is only known to exist in 9.<ref name="Federal Register :: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the American Burying Beetle From Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule">{{Cite web |title=Federal Register :: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the American Burying Beetle From Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule |date=15 October 2020 |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/15/2020-19810/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-reclassification-of-the-american-burying-beetle-from}}</ref>

==Reproduction== Burying beetles have large club-like antennae equipped with chemoreceptors capable of detecting a dead animal from a long distance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Environment and Climate Change |date=2012-10-10 |title=American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2011 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/american-burying-beetle-2011.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> After finding a carcass (most usually that of a small bird or a mouse), beetles fight amongst themselves (males fighting males, females fighting females) until the winning pair (usually the largest) remains. If a lone beetle finds a carcass, it may continue alone and await a partner. Single males attract mates by releasing a pheromone from the tip of their abdomens. Females can raise a brood alone, fertilizing her eggs using sperm stored from previous copulations.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Benowitz |first1=Kyle M. |last2=Moore |first2=Allen J. |date=December 2016 |title=Biparental care is predominant and beneficial to parents in the burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis (Coleoptera: Silphidae) |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=119 |issue=4 |pages=1082–1088 |pmc=5181846 |pmid=28025585 |doi=10.1111/bij.12830 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The carcass is usually buried by the beetle(s) to hide it from potential competitors, which are numerous.

An example of a species of ''Nicrophorus'' that displays this form of bi-parental care and burying activity is ''Nicrophorus nepalensis''. Pairs of ''Nicrophorus nepalensis'' prepare carcasses and care for the developing larvae in a joint fashion. After burying a carcass, the beetles mate and lay eggs near/on the carcass. When the eggs hatch into larvae they begin feeding on the flesh of the carcass. The adults remain until the larvae begin to pupate.

'''Burying beetle life cycle'''

The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass. While doing so, and after removing all hair from the carcass, the beetles cover the animal with antibacterial and antifungal oral and anal secretions, slowing the decay of the carcass and preventing the smell of rotting flesh from attracting competition.<ref name=":03" /> The carcass is formed into a ball and the fur or feathers stripped away and used to line and reinforce the crypt, also known as a nursery, where the carcass will remain until the flesh has been completely consumed.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last=Smiseth |first=P. T. |date=July 2004 |title=Behavioral dynamics between caring males and females in a beetle with facultative biparental care |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=621–628 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arh053 |doi-access=free |issn=1465-7279|hdl=10.1093/beheco/arh053 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The burial process can take around 8 hours. Several pairs of beetles may cooperate to bury large carcasses and then raise their broods communally.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Muller |first=J. K. |date=March 2003 |title=Nestmate recognition in burying beetles: the "breeder's badge" as a cue used by females to distinguish their mates from male intruders |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=212–220 |doi=10.1093/beheco/14.2.212 |doi-access=free |issn=1465-7279}}</ref>

The female burying beetle lays eggs in the soil around the crypt.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Environment and Climate Change |date=2012-10-10 |title=American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2011 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/american-burying-beetle-2011.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> The larvae hatch after a few days and move into a pit in the carcass which the parents have created. Although the larvae are able to feed themselves, both parents also feed the larvae in response to begging: they digest the flesh and regurgitate liquid food for the larvae to feed on, a form of progressive provisioning.<ref name=":42" /> This probably speeds up larval development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=EGGERT |first1=ANNE-KATRIN |last2=REINKING |first2=MARTINA |last3=MÜLLER |first3=JOSEF K |date=January 1998 |title=Parental care improves offspring survival and growth in burying beetles |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=97–107 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1997.0588 |pmid=9480676 |issn=0003-3472}}</ref> It is also thought the parent beetles can produce secretions from head glands that have anti-microbial activity, inhibiting the growth of bacteria and fungi on the vertebrate corpse.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Duarte |first1=Ana |last2=Rebar |first2=Darren |last3=Hallett |first3=Allysa C. |last4=Jarrett |first4=Benjamin J. M. |last5=Kilner |first5=Rebecca M. |date=2021-11-24 |title=Evolutionary change in the construction of the nursery environment when parents are prevented from caring for their young directly |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=118 |issue=48 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2102450118 |doi-access=free |pmid=34819363 |pmc=8640939 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11802450D |issn=0027-8424|hdl=10871/128609 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The adult beetles continue to protect the larvae, which take several days to mature. Many competitors make this task difficult, e.g. bluebottles and ants or burying beetles of either another or the same species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Trumbo |first1=Stephen T. |last2=Valletta |first2=Richard C. |date=April 2007 |title=The Costs of Confronting Infanticidal Intruders in a Burying Beetle |journal=Ethology |volume=113 |issue=4 |pages=386–393 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01326.x |bibcode=2007Ethol.113..386T |issn=0179-1613}}</ref> Throughout the entirety of the larva's development, the parents fight off these competitors all the while maintaining an ideal nursery inside the carcass for their offspring.<ref name=":32" /> The final-stage larvae migrate into the soil and pupate, transforming from larvae to fully formed adult beetles.<ref name=":03"/>

Parental care (and particularly biparental care) is quite rare among insects that are not eusocial (e.g. ants and honey bees). Burying beetles are exceptional in exhibiting this trait, and thus fall under the category of subsocial insects.<ref>Trumbo, S.T. 1994. Interspecific competition, brood parasitism, and the evolution of biparental cooperation in burying beetles. Oikos. 69:241–249.</ref><ref name=":42"/>

== Infanticide == Burying beetles are known to commit infanticide at an early stage, which is also known as culling their young. This is done to ensure that the supply of food provided by the carcass is sufficient to nourish all the larvae sufficiently.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Bartlett |first=J. |date=September 1987 |title=Filial cannibalism in burying beetles |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=179–183 |doi=10.1007/bf00303208 |issn=0340-5443}}</ref> If there are too many young, they will all be underfed and will develop less quickly, reducing their chances of surviving to adulthood. If there are too few young, the resulting adult beetles will be large but the parents could have produced more of them.<ref name=":1"/> The most successful beetle parents will achieve a good balance between the size of offspring and the number produced. This method of brood size regulation might be the result of the eggs being laid before the female has been able to gauge the size of the carcass and hence how many larvae it can provision.<ref name=":5" />

== Conservation == As of 2020, the American burying beetle (''N. americanus'') was reclassified from the endangered category to threatened by the Fish and Wildlife Service.<ref name="Federal Register :: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the American Burying Beetle From Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule"/> Burying beetles are important to the ecosystem and aid in nutrient recycling by burying dead animals. This allows for the nutrient-rich carcass to be recycled by the system.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-05 |title=This Beetle Lays its Eggs in Dead Mice Carcasses and then Covers Them With Mucus – But it's Endangered and Important |url=https://blog.ucsusa.org/jacob-carter/the-american-burying-beetle-is-in-trouble/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=The Equation}}</ref>

==Species== {{Multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 100 | image1 = Nicrophorus.germanicus.-.calwer.09.08.jpg | caption1 = ''Nicrophorus germanicus'' | image2 = Nicrophorus.humator.-.calwer.09.09.jpg | caption2 = ''Nicrophorus humator'' | image3 = Nicrophorus.investigator.-.calwer.09.12.jpg | caption3 = ''Nicrophorus investigator'' | image4 = Nicrophorus.vespillo.-.calwer.09.10.jpg | caption4 = ''Nicrophorus vespillo'' | image5 = Nicrophorus.vespilloides.-.calwer.09.13.jpg | caption5 = ''Nicrophorus vespilloides'' | image6 = Nicrophorus.vestigator.-.calwer.09.11.jpg | caption6 = ''Nicrophorus vestigator'' }} {{As of|2025}} there are over 70 valid, extant species in the genus ''Nicrophorus'' although a few undescribed species and synonyms remain to be worked up.<ref name=catlife/>

{{Div col|colwidth=21em}} * ''Nicrophorus americanus'' A.G.Olivier, 1790 (American Burying Beetle) * ''Nicrophorus antennatus'' (Reitter, 1884) * ''Nicrophorus apo'' Arnett, 1950 * ''Nicrophorus argutor'' (Jakovlev, 1891) * ''Nicrophorus basalis'' (Faldermann, 1835) * ''Nicrophorus carolinus'' (Linnaeus, 1771) * ''Nicrophorus charon'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus chilensis'' (R.A.Philippi, 1871) * ''Nicrophorus concolor'' (Kraatz, 1877) * ''Nicrophorus confusus'' (Portevin, 1924) * ''Nicrophorus dauricus'' (Motschulsky, 1860) * ''Nicrophorus defodiens'' (Mannerheim, 1846) * ''Nicrophorus didymus'' (Brullé, 1836) * ''Nicrophorus distinctus'' (Grouvelle, 1885) * ''Nicrophorus efferens'' Sikes & Mousseau, 2013 * ''Nicrophorus encaustus'' (Fairmaire, 1896) * ''Nicrophorus germanicus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Nicrophorus guttula'' (Motschulsky, 1845) * ''Nicrophorus hebes'' (Kirby, 1837) * ''Nicrophorus herscheli'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus heurni'' (Portevin, 1926) * ''Nicrophorus hispaniola'' Sikes & Peck, 2000 * ''Nicrophorus humator'' (Gleditsch, 1767) * ''Nicrophorus hybridus'' (Hatch & Angell, 1925) * ''Nicrophorus insignis'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus insularis'' (Grouvelle, 1893) * ''Nicrophorus interruptus'' (Stephens, 1830) * ''Nicrophorus investigator'' (Zetterstedt, 1824) * ''Nicrophorus japonicus'' (Harold, 1877) * ''Nicrophorus kieticus'' Mroczkowski, 1959 * ''Nicrophorus lunatus'' (Fischer de Waldheim, 1842) * ''Nicrophorus maculifrons'' (Kraatz, 1877) * ''Nicrophorus marginatus'' (Fabricius, 1801) * ''Nicrophorus melissae'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus mexicanus'' (A.Matthews, 1887) * ''Nicrophorus mongolicus'' (Shchegoleva-Barovskaya, 1933) * ''Nicrophorus montivagus'' (Lewis, 1887) * ''Nicrophorus morio'' (Gebler, 1817) * ''Nicrophorus nepalensis'' (Hope, 1831) * ''Nicrophorus nigricornis'' (Faldermann, 1835) * ''Nicrophorus nigrita'' (Mannerheim, 1843) * ''Nicrophorus oberthuri'' (Portevin, 1924) * ''Nicrophorus obscurus'' (Kirby, 1837) * ''Nicrophorus olidus'' (A.Matthews, 1887) * ''Nicrophorus orbicollis'' (Say, 1825) * ''Nicrophorus podagricus'' (Portevin, 1920) * ''Nicrophorus przewalskii'' (A.P.Semenov, 1894) * ''Nicrophorus pustulatus'' (Herschel, 1807) * ''Nicrophorus quadraticollis'' (Portevin, 1903) * ''Nicrophorus quadricollis'' Gistel, 1848 * ''Nicrophorus quadrimaculatus'' (A.Matthews, 1887) * ''Nicrophorus quadripunctatus'' (Kraatz, 1877) * ''Nicrophorus reichardti'' (Kieseritzky, 1930) * ''Nicrophorus reticulatus'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus satanas'' (Reitter, 1893) * ''Nicrophorus sausai'' Růžička, Háva & J.Schneider, 2000 * ''Nicrophorus sayi'' (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840) * ''Nicrophorus schawalleri'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus scrutator'' (É.Blanchard, 1842) * ''Nicrophorus semenowi'' (Reitter, 1887) * ''Nicrophorus sepulchralis'' (Heer, 1841) * ''Nicrophorus sepultor'' (T.Charpentier, 1825) * ''Nicrophorus sinensis'' Ji & Yun, 2013 * ''Nicrophorus smefarka'' Háva, J.Schneider & Růžička, 1999 * ''Nicrophorus tenuipes'' (Lewis, 1887) * ''Nicrophorus tomentosus'' (Weber, 1801) * ''Nicrophorus trumboi'' Sikes & Madge, 2006 * ''Nicrophorus ussuriensis'' (Portevin, 1923) * ''Nicrophorus validus'' (Portevin, 1920) * ''Nicrophorus vespillo'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Nicrophorus vespilloides'' Herbst, 1783 * ''Nicrophorus vestigator'' (Herschel, 1807) {{Div col end}}

=== Fossils === * †''Nicrophorus pliozaenicus'' (Gersdorf, 1969)

A fossil of ''N. humator'' dating around 10,500 years was reported in 1962 by Pearson.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sikes |first1=Derek S. |last2=Madge |first2=Ronald B. |last3=Newton |first3= Alfred F. |name-list-style=amp |date=August 29, 2002 |title=A catalog of the Nicrophorinae (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of the world |journal=Zootaxa |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=1–304 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.65.1.1 |doi-access=free }}</ref> An extinct unnamed member of the genus is known from the Late Cretaceous Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar, around 99 million years old.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cai |first1=Chen-Yang |last2=Thayer |first2=Margaret K. |last3=Engel |first3=Michael S. |last4=Newton |first4=Alfred F. |last5=Ortega-Blanco |first5=Jaime |last6=Wang |first6=Bo |last7=Wang |first7=Xiang-Dong |last8=Huang |first8=Di-Ying |date=2014-09-30 |title=Early origin of parental care in Mesozoic carrion beetles |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=111 |issue=39 |pages=14170–14174 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1412280111 |issn=0027-8424 |pmid=25225362 |pmc=4191754 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2014PNAS..11114170C }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Toussaint |first1=Emmanuel F. A. |last2=Condamine |first2=Fabien L. |date=April 2016 |title=To what extent do new fossil discoveries change our understanding of clade evolution? A cautionary tale from burying beetles (Coleoptera: ''Nicrophorus'') |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=117 |issue=4 |pages=686–704 |doi=10.1111/bij.12710 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=catlife> {{Cite web| title=Catalogue of Life, ''Nicrophorus'' Fabricius, 1775 | url=https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/9JBC7 | access-date=2025-10-18 }}</ref> }} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20121113203257/https://8ac0d298-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/mikesinsectkeys/Home/keys-to-coleoptera/silphidae/KeytotheBritishspeciesofgenusNicrophorus.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cprtOqSpxdxyhq-jUnkeuZrpNV5cWFQFphvNEl114jiODOlODYOJ4tJRMQEPHAvp0NbR5qRoVCiOThJDG3xtNsZ7l-xIFNBNujfn0v_PcjM2l1SlrOcQPu2lP4JmE_aJrYAYxNGB5TCV-TurBDWR3mg3-MPsVk4Fnbw7p8Z8jRsNa1AMtALn4TqCiP5ohmpgg9WPTel_uw6G0QdFTpesySLzgNW69Y5_IaIRKGGLqCVsFMxGlN36UVM8kEXg87BjBjEWwTGaQws7w-7caCmM3f34RNzwwhVhuLSC0U-2tBJ0sUEaglxmNiZ__85ZyvkK4jrfoDn&attredirects=0 Key to the British species of ''Nicrophorus''] *{{Wikispecies-inline|Nicrophorus|''Nicrophorus''}} *{{Commons category-inline|Nicrophorus|''Nicrophorus''}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050310225611/http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/nicroweb/nicrophorus.htm ''Nicrophorus'' Central] *[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/23/science/burying-beetle-sex-pheromones.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below Sexual behavior of burying beetles], NYTimes, 2016

Category:Silphidae Category:Staphyliniformia genera Category:Detritivores Category:Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Category:Necrophages

Burying beetle

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