The real Burying Beetle






The Nicrophorus humator Burying Beetle The Nicrophorus vespilloides Burying Beetle The Nicrophorus investigator Burying Beetle	the real burying beetle Why do you rarely find dead animals in the countryside? As Gussie finds out, the Burying Beetle has the curious habit of burying dead birds, mice, shrews, voles and other animals by digging the earth away beneath them. A male and female Burying Beetle work together to bury the dead animal, then the strip away the fur or feathers and coat the animal in a special saliva. The Burying Beetle (also called the Sexton Beetle) does this strange job to provide food for its young. The female beetle lays her eggs in a tunnel dug near the dead animal, and when they hatch the larvae eat the whole animal. The Burying Beetle is an unusual insect - not only does it bury dead animals, helping to keep the countryside clear of animal carcasses, the male and female beetles also stay behind to look after their young, and to help them feed. There are six different species of Burying Beetle in the UK - like the Nicrophorus humator and the Nicrophorus investigator. The most common kind is called the Necrophorus vespillo. All Burying Beetles are quite large (up to 30mm long), and all but the Nicrophorus humator have black-and-orange coloured wing-cases. In the United States of America, the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) is an endangered species, and are only found in Oklahoma and on islands off the Rhode Island coast. To find out more about why this once-common beetle is endangered, visit www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/abbefs.html. More images of the real Burying Beetle: The Nicrophorus humator Burying Beetle, which is all black except for red-tipped antennae The common Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus vespillo
Buy The Burying Beetle online now from the secure Luath Press website: www.luath.co.uk/acatalog/The_Burying_Beetle.html
		The Burying Beetle by Ann Kelley will be available from May 2005, priced £9.99, from all good bookshops or online from www.luath.co.uk. ISBN: 1 84282 099 0 PBK