''Nicrophorus tomentosus'' (gold-necked carrion beetle or tomentose burying beetle) is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

burying beetle Burying beetles or sexton beetles, genus ''Nicrophorus'', are the best-known members of the family Silphidae (carrion beetles). Most of these beetles are black with red markings on the Elytron, elytra (forewings). Burying beetles are true to th ...

that was described by Friedrich Weber in 1801. The beetle belongs to the family

Silphidae Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as large carrion beetles, carrion beetles or burying beetles. There are two family (biology), subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Members of Nicrophorinae are sometimes known as bury ...

which are carrion beetles. The beetles have sensitive antennae that contain olfactory organs. Thus, the beetle can locate dead animals (

carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...

), and then as the name suggests, can bury them. However, unlike other burying beetles, ''N. tomentosus'' does not completely bury these brood carcasses. They instead dig a shallow hole under the carcass and cover it with leaf litter. Recognition of these beetles can be distinguished by its black color with orange markings on the wing covers ( elytra).

Classification

The genus name, '' Nicrophorus'', means “death carrier”; ' means "covered in short hair", referring to the pronotum.

Description

There are several characteristics that differentiate

from other families. One characteristic is that ''N. tomentosus'' is about 11.2–19.0 millimeters in length. It also has a pair of striations on its fifth abdominal

tergum A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; : ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton wi ...

. They also have a very large scutellum which can sometimes be as wide as its head. The segments of its antennae are all black, clubbed at the ends, and contain olfactory organs. The flight pattern of ''N. tomentosus'' is similar to that of a bumble bee. Its elytral epipleuron is completely black except for symmetrical orange splotches. The pronotum is also covered with a thick patch of golden yellow setae which sets it apart from other nicrophorus in its genus.

Habitat and distribution

''N. tomentosus'' are found in areas where there are carcasses. Carcasses can range anywhere from dead

rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

. Thus,

forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s, shrub land, and sandy prairies are common areas where these beetles predominately thrive. The distribution of ''N. tomentosus'' is worldwide. However, in the western hemisphere it is located in the United States excluding the southeast region, and southern Canada that is east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

. ''N. tomentosus'' are seasonal. Thus they are only found in the months May through October, primarily in the months of July and August.

Life cycle

The mating of the male and female ''N. tomentosus'' can begin anytime after a food source is found and buried. Mating is not particular to the carcass and can take place anywhere around it. When the eggs are laid they are then deposited into the nearby soil at a time at least twelve hours from the discovery of the carcass. Once the eggs hatch, after about four days, the

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

move towards the carcass to a feeding hole that was made by the parents. Both parents then feed the larvae regurgitated food for about six to eight days when the larvae are fully developed. The fully developed ''N. tomentosus'' then repeat the cycle after locating a new carcass and mate. Recently, ''N. tomentosus'' was found to be one of at least two burying beetles which can breed in the forest canopy.

Anatomy

The basic anatomy of the ''N. tomentosus'' is broken up into three separate functional body regions: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The entire body wall of ''N. tomentosus'' is called the

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

. This tough outer layer provides strong protection and different areas where muscles can attach and provide movement. Their harder outer layer is made of

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

yet the skin is broken up into many different hardened plates that are separated by sutures. This allows flexible movement and doesn’t cause it to move rigidly. The head houses the brain, eyes, antennae, and mouth parts. The eyes are compound eyes which are lens-like in appearance and have a pixel-like reception. They are made up of thousands of little receptors called ommatidia. The antennae are covered with many chemical receptors and act as sensory organs. ''N. tomentosus'' has a

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

for chewing its food. The

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

is the center of movement. It is separated into three different regions: the

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...

, the

mesothorax The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the thorax of hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (dorsal), the mesosternum ( ventral), and the mesopleuron (lateral) ...

, and the metathorax. It is heavily scleratized which provides extra support and acts as an anchor for moving parts. It is also divided into three different sections. The notum is the top most or dorsal area, the sternum is the lower or ventral side, and the pleuron is the sides where the legs are attached. The thorax is also the location of the wings. The ''N. tomentosus'' has a special hard shell like outer wings that protects and covers the delicate membranous hind wings that only emerge during flight. The thorax also houses the dorsal brain and ventral nervous system. The abdomen is the last body region or the posterior area on the ''N. tomentosus''. It houses the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and reproductive systems. The spiracles, which are external openings that allow the ''N. tomentosus'' to breathe, are also found along the sides on the abdomen and are divided up into each segment.

Diet

The diet of the ''N. tomentosus'' consists of small vertebrate animals. These include and are not limited to rats, moles, voles, and other rodents that the parents happen to find. Once the body is found the male and female remove any hair or feathers and roll the carcass into a ball. In order to preserve the carcass it is sprayed with a secretion from the

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

because size and condition of the carcass determines how many eggs can be laid. The young eat regurgitated food from both parents and straight from the carcass. While feeding, the parents will protect the young from competitors and other burying beetles. The female will stay until the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are fully developed and then leave for another carcass.

Interesting facts

This burying beetle exudes a very striking color pattern and displays very interesting behavior patterns. The behavior that these beetles are most noted for is the way they bury small vertebrate carcasses. This is done to ensure the survival of their

offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by sexual reproduction, sexual or asexual reproduction. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny. This can refer to a set of simultaneous offspring ...

. These beetles put much time into their parental care. The males are just as involved as the females. The adult beetles stay and protect their eggs until they pupate and if the female dies the male will step in and pick up the extra workload. Another interesting feature of the burying beetles is the presence of a club. A club is an end segment of their antennae that is enlarged and flattened. This aids in the detection of odors emitted from decaying carcasses. When a suitable carcass is found the adult beetles will spread antibiotic secretions over it to remove

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

and

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

. Also is if the carcass is large then sharing will occur between two male or female pairs or uneven numbers of females and males.

Research

There have been several studies performed on ''N. tomemtosus'' in relation to its breeding habits. One major study was carried out to see how competition between flies and ''N. tomentosus'' would affect the brood size. What was discovered from these studies was that the existence or lack of

oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

by flies had an effect on the brood size of ''N. tomentosus'' present on the carcass. The fewer number of flies present on a decaying carcass the larger the brood size raised by the ''N. tomentosus'' beetles. Also the number of adult beetles present affected the brood size. The more female beetles present, the larger the number of young reared. Female beetles have a constraint on how many eggs they can lay due to timing however, male beetles do not have such a constraint and can impregnate several females. The one thing that wasn’t affected by the presence or absence of

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

on a carcass was the amount of parental care administered.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicrophorus Tomentosus Silphidae Beetles of North America Beetles described in 1801