Burying Beetles

    Earlier this fall we got a donation of American Burying Beetles (Nicrophorus americanus) to safeguard in our collection, the specimens of which were part of a survey project done by one of our museum's curators, Dr. Gary Schnell. He, along with students, did surveys of the endangered beetles in Arkansas and Oklahoma to study what habitats they prefer, and to learn more about their biology. Dr. Schnell had been working on the project from 1992 to about 2005 surveying the two sites (Fort Chaffee and Fort Gruber, respectively) during several summers in that time frame. The beetles that were found dead in the survey were kept as voucher specimens, and are now part of our collection thanks to the work of our volunteer Sally, who has diligently been pinning and processing them from alcohol.

American Burying Beetles Sally has processed.

   Why are American Burying Beetles so important? Well, the reason is that they are one of the few insects on the Endangered Species list. Its believed that these beetles used to have ranges across the entire Eastern United States, but are now just limited to a few counties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Nebraska.

   These beetles feed on a very specialized diet: carrion (dead animals), which is one of the reasons that its thought they have had such a reduction in their distribution. Dead animals, especially in the right size that the beetles can use, is fairly hard to find. These beetles need animals the size of a dove or chipmunk that they can easily manipulate into a burrow to bury with their eggs. The eggs then feed on the nutrients of the carrion to develop. As land use changes and the availability of small animals decreases, so have the beetles. According to information on Wikipedia.com from the US Forest Service, their life cycle is as follows:

   "During the winter months when temperatures are below 15 °C (60 °F) N. americanus adults bury themselves in the soil to overwinter. When temperatures are above 15 °C (60 °F) they emerge from the soil and begin the mating and reproduction process. Burying beetles are unusual in that both the male and female take part in raising the young. Male burying beetles often locate carcasses first and then attract a mate. Beetles often fight over the carcass, with usually the largest male and female individuals winning. The victors bury the carcass, the pair mates, and the female lays her eggs in an adjacent tunnel. Within a few days, the larvae develop and both parents feed and tend their young, an unusual activity among insects, but a characteristic shared with the. Brood size ranges from one to 30 young, but 12 to 15 is the average size." 

Its this complex behavior, among other things, that makes them so interesting as well as atypical for beetles. Most beetles do not have this type of maternal care (parents taking care of the young); usually beetles lay their eggs and then leave them to fend on their own!

American Burying Beetles are recognized by their orange antennae segments, the orange area on the head and pronotum (shield like structure behind the head), and the orange stripes on the wings.

     Having these beetle specimens in our museum helps keep the record of their existence for future generations. Hopefully the beetles will have a bright future ahead of them with their protected status and captive breeding, but if not we can safeguard their record of being here none the less.