🐾 Land🐦 FlyingCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: High — restricted in many states
American burying beetle
Nicrophorus americanus
The American burying beetle is a large, orange-marked carrion beetle that has vanished from most of its former US range. Once widespread, it now persists in scattered populations and is the subject of reintroduction efforts.
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Quick facts
| Size | Large carrion beetle ~2.5-3.5 cm, black with orange markings. |
| Lifespan | 1 years |
| Native region | Central and eastern United States (greatly reduced range) |
| Climate | 🍂 Temperate |
| Genus | Nicrophorus |
Habitat & enclosure
Historically found across much of the eastern and central United States in a range of habitats, it has contracted to a few remnant populations. The reasons for its decline are debated but include habitat fragmentation and changes in the small-vertebrate carcasses it needs to breed. It is federally protected; this profile is conservation/education only.
Diet
Adults and larvae feed on carrion; a breeding pair buries a small animal carcass, prepares it, and raises larvae on it with notable parental care. Availability of appropriately sized carcasses is a limiting factor for the species.
Behavior & temperament
Remarkable among insects for cooperative biparental care, the male and female jointly bury and tend a carcass and feed their larvae. Captive-rearing and release programs aim to re-establish populations within the historic range.
Reviewed and signed off by: KinStation Editorial — conservation profile (pending DVM/biologist review)