The American Burying Beetle
|
As more and more animals are added to the endangered species list, it becomes apparent that in order to preserve our fragile ecosystem people and organizations must take an active role in its conservation. Here at the Roger Williams Park Zoo, we are helping to ensure the survival of the American Burying Beetle. Since 1994, our zoo has been breeding populations of American Burying Beetles and releasing them in the wild, hoping to repair a vital link in the chain of the ecosystem. Known as nature's most efficient and fascinating recyclers, burying beetles are important scavengers that are responsible for recycling decaying animals back into the ecosystem. American Burying Beetle information is listed below, but for species recovery and conservation efforts, click here. |
| |
Species Profile |
|
Appearance: |
Nicrophorus americanus grows as large as two inches, and lives about 12 months. It has a black, shiny carapace (or surrounding armor-like shell) with bright orange markings on its back (Pronotum), wing coverings (Elytra), and head. The field marking identifying this species is a circular orange spot on its pronotum. The beetles have strong pincers, used for both fighting and ripping through food. |
 |
Location: |
Once found throughout the Midwest and eastern United States and into the southern borders of three Canadian provinces, evidence of a serious decline was noted beginning in the late 1800s through the mid 1900s. The American burying beetle was listed as a federally endangered species in 1989. The eastern population is now limited to Block Island (BI), a small island off the southern coast of Rhode Island and one island in Massachusetts were the beetle has been reintroduced. Populations of the species also exist west of the Mississippi and can be found in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska and in extreme southern South Dakota, and north eastern Texas.
See Distribution Map |
|
Diet: |
The adult beetles eat other insects, and like many scavengers, eat dead, decaying animals. The beetle larvae feed on a carrion resource that has been buried and specially prepared by the adult pair. |
|
Male or Female?: |
The ABB is sexually dimorphic, meaning there is a clear distinction between males and females. The orange marking just above the mandibles make it easier to discern the gender of a beetle: females have a triangular shaped orange mark, while males have a square shape in the same area. This beetle is a male: |
 |
Reproduction: |
The most intriguing aspects of this creature are how it reproduces, feeds, and cares for its young. The interesting (and perhaps unsettling) twist, though, is that American Burying Beetle not only feeds off the dead carcasses, it also uses certain carcasses to serve as a "nest" and food source for its offspring. On summer nights, both male and female beetles have been known to fly as much as a kilometer a night, searching for the odor of a decaying animal.
If the dead animal is just the right size, the pair who win rights to the carcass, (if more than one pair of ABB’s locates the same carcass), will then begin to quickly prepare the carcass for their soon to be produced brood (litter of beetle larvae). Just before the male and female beetles mate, the pair will proceed to bury their hard-earned carcass, which must be between 80 to 200 grams. The size is so specific because the carrion must big enough to feed the mass of hungry larvae when they hatch, but not too big that it can't be buried and prepared by the adult beetles. Once the carcass has been buried (to hide it from other hungry creatures), an under ground brood chamber is constructed. In this chamber the adult beetles strip all the fur or feathers from the carcass, roll it into the shape of a ball and coat the carcass with both an anal and oral fluid. The fluids preserve the carcass and keep it safe from harmful bacterial and fungal growth, making it a perfect cradle and food source for the beetle larvae.
After the carcass has been completely prepared the female will lay her eggs inside the brood chamber. Larvae hatch after a few days, and, quite interestingly, the larvae are placed on the carcass and tended by both parents (which is rare in the insect world), who feed the larvae bits of chewed carcass for the first few days when they are still too small to feed on their own. The larvae will even stroke the mandibles of the parents to encourage feeding! After 12 to 15 days most of the carcass resource has been consumed and the larvae are fat ready to leave the carcass. The larvae tunnel underground where they will enter a pupal stage that lasts 6 to 8 weeks. At the end of their transformation they emerge as adult beetles, ready to go out and find a nest of their own.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Burying the carcass |
Secreting Mucus on Carcass and laying eggs |
Feeding the Larva |
Larva begin tunneling |
Emerging as Adult Beetles |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Many bugs are as fascinating as the American Burying Beetle. What to learn more about nature's small and important creatures?
|
The Bug Club is a club designed for kids who are interested in some of the most important critters on earth! In each class, we will: study all kinds of bugs, do a bug project, and play a bug game! Sign up for one or both sessions! Learn something different in each class. |
|
|
|
| |
|
