Please wait while the next page arrives.
Please wait while the next page arrives.
Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Nicrophorus americanus
Coleoptera / Staphylinidae
Nicrophorus americanus is a large orange-and-black carrion beetle of North America. A distinctive orange-red pronotal patch separates it from other North American burying beetles, and parents prepare buried carcasses to rear their young.
Read the species account
Nicrophorus americanus belongs to the carrion-beetle subfamily Silphinae within Staphylinidae. [2]
Adults are shiny black with two orange-red marks on each wing cover. The central pronotal patch, forehead and antennal clubs are orange-red. [1]
Historically widespread across temperate eastern North America, the species now persists or has been reintroduced in parts of the central United States and New England. Breeding requires carrion, suitable soil and moisture. [1]
Parents bury a carcass, remove fur or feathers and prepare a brood ball. Eggs lie in nearby soil; larvae consume the carcass and receive food from their parents. [1]
Adults are attracted to mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian carcasses. [1]
Adults fly at night searching for carrion and overwinter in the soil. [1]
Parents can consume excess larvae when a carcass cannot support the entire brood. [1]
Olivier described Nicrophorus americanus in 1790. Nicrophorus grandis and Nicrophorus virginicus are later synonyms. [4]
The species has been federally listed as Threatened in the United States since 2020 and is listed as Extirpated in Canada. Recovery programmes include captive breeding and reintroduction. [3]
Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service · Accessed 2026-10-13
Sikes, Thayer & Newton; ZooKeys (2024) · Accessed 2026-10-13
Environment and Climate Change Canada · Accessed 2026-10-13
GBIF Secretariat · Accessed 2026-10-13
Sources checked 2026-10-13. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
Return to the Entomological Atlas ↑
_%E2%80%94_walking.jpg){kind=link}