''Nicrophorus interruptus'' is a species of

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 ...

or sexton beetle belonging 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 ...

subfamily

Nicrophorinae Nicrophorini is a tribe of burying beetles or carrion beetles in the subfamily Silphinae. It was formerly treated as subfamily Nicrophorinae within family Silphidae, but this family was found to be nested in family Staphylinidae in phylogeneti ...

Distribution

''Nicrophorus interruptus'' is the rarest but widespread among the large red and black carrion beetles. They are present in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

and in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

.Fauna europaea
/ref>

Description

The adults grow up to long.
/ref> They are mostly black with two orange-red markings on the elytra and a yellow pubescence on protruding abdominal segments. They are also characterized by the absence of hairs on the thorax and straight tibias on the hind legs. The front and posterior orange-red markings on the elytra are separated from one another at the suture. They have large club-like antennae equipped with black and reddish tips containing

chemoreceptors A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance ( endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorece ...

, capable of detecting a dead animal from a long way away.

Biology

These beetles are scavengers, breeding and living off in rotten carcases. In fact they bury the carcasses of small vertebrates such as birds and mice as a food source for their larvae. In ''Nicrophorus interruptus'' both the male and female parents take care of the brood, quite rare behaviour among insects. The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass, forming the crypt, where the carcass will remain until the flesh has been completely consumed. Although the larvae are able to feed themselves, both parents also feed them by regurgitated liquid food.Erna Pukowsk
Ecological Investigation of Necrophorus F.
Zeitschrift fur Morphologie und Oekologie der Tiere 27(3): 518-586. 1933 The adult beetles continue to protect the larvae, which take several days to mature. The final-stage larvae migrate into the soil and pupate, transforming from small white larvae to fully formed adult beetles.

Bibliography

* Derek S. Sikes, Ronald B. Madge & Alfred F. Newton (2002)
A Catalog of the Nicrophorinae (Coleoptera : Silphidae) of the World, Magnolia Press
* Jessica Dekeirsschieter, François Verheggen, Georges Lognay, Eric Haubrugebr>Large carrion beetles (Coleoptera, Silphidae) in Western Europe: a review

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7030627 Silphidae Beetles of North America Beetles of Europe Beetles described in 1830 Palearctic insects