''Nicrophorus vespilloides'' is a

burying beetle Burying beetles or sexton beetles, genus ''Nicrophorus'', are the best-known members of the family Silphidae ( carrion beetles). Most of these beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota ...

described by

Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst (1 November 1743 – 5 November 1807) was a German naturalist and entomologist from Petershagen, Minden-Ravensberg. He served as a chaplain in the Prussian army. His marriage in Berlin, 1770, with Euphrosyne Luis ...

in 1783. The beetles are 10 – 18 mm long. They have two conspicuous orange-yellow bands on the elytra. The color of the antennae are an important distinguishing feature, being totally black. This is one of the most well studied of the burying beetles with over 1,000 citations found via Google Scholar. What had been considered ''Nicrophorus vespilloides'' in mid and eastern Canada and northeastern USA was determined by Sikes et al. in 2016 to be a separate, overlooked sister species of ''Nicrophorus vespilloides'' that had been named by Kirby in 1837. This sister species, ''Nicrophorus hebes'' Kirby, is restricted to ''Sphagnum'' bogs and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es,. ''Nicrophorus vespilloides'' occurs throughout the northern Palearctic, Alaska and northwestern Canada where it is found in open

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by 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 function. The United Nations' ...

habitats. The restriction of its sister species ''N. hebes'' to bogs in North America has been attributed to competition with its closely related congener, '' N. defodiens'' which in this area is found in forest habitats. ''N. hebes'' reproduces exclusively in bogs in North America and is never found in adjacent (<) forested habitat in the

Mer Bleue Mer Bleue Bog is a protected area in Gloucester, Ontario, an eastern suburb of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Its main feature is a sphagnum bog that is situated in an ancient channel of the Ottawa River and is a remarkable boreal-like ecos ...

bog area near

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada. There are also a number of

phoretic Phoresis or phoresy is a non-permanent, commensalistic interaction in which one organism (a phoront or phoretic) attaches itself to another (the host) solely for the purpose of travel. Phoresis has been observed directly in ticks and mites s ...

(hitch-hiking)

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

s that are associated with ''N. vespilloides''. These include '' Pelzneria'' nr. ''crenulata'', ''

Macrocheles merderius ''Macrocheles'' is a genus of mites in the family Macrochelidae. There are more than 80 described species in ''Macrocheles''. Species These 81 species belong to the genus ''Macrocheles'': * '' Macrocheles analis'' (Hyatt & Emberson) * ''Macroch ...

'', and '' Uroobovella'' nr. ''novasimilis'' and the largest mite ''Poecilochirus carabi''. ''P. carabi'' is not attached by any physical means (such as a secreted anal stalk in the case of ''M. merderius'') to ''N. vespilloides''. When the males or females of ''N. vespilloides'' have finished breeding on a carcass the

deutonymph Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

s of ''P. carabi'' roam freely about the body of the beetles as they search for new carcasses to reproduce. It had been proposed that ''P. carabi'' deutonymphs, on arrival at a new carcass dismounted from the beetles and consumed fly eggs and larvae which would have competed for the beetle larvae for food. This relationship which benefited the beetles has been described as mutualistic. However, it has been shown that adults of ''P. carabi'' consume the eggs of ''N. vespilloides'' and that this has direct and negative effects on the reproduction of this beetle species. ''N. vespilloides'' is also used as a model organism in the study of social immunity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q577020 Silphidae Beetles of North America Beetles of Europe Beetles of Asia Beetles described in 1783 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst