Burying Beetles

Burying beetles also known as sexton beetles, or Undertaker 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. They are unusual among insects in that both the male and female parents take care of the brood.

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.