Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as large carrion beetles, carrion beetles or burying beetles. There are two subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Members of Nicrophorinae are sometimes known as burying beetles or sexton beetles. The number of species is relatively small, at around two hundred. They are more diverse in the temperate region although a few tropical endemics are known. Both subfamilies feed on decaying organic matter such as dead animals. The subfamilies differ in which uses parental care and which types of carcasses they prefer. Silphidae are considered to be of importance to forensic entomologists because when they are found on a decaying body they are used to help estimate a post-mortem interval.
The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the largest family in the beetle order, and one of the largest families of organisms. It is an ancient group, with fossilized rove beetles known from the Triassic, 200 million years ago, and possibly even earlier if the genus Leehermania proves to be a member of this family. They are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of beetles, and commonly encountered in terrestrial ecosystems.
Staphylinoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is a very large and diverse group with worldwide distribution.
Agyrtidae, or primitive carrion beetles, are a small family of beetles belonging to Staphylinoidea. They are found in mostly temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere and in New Zealand.
Nicrophorus tomentosus is a species of burying beetle that was described by Friedrich Weber in 1801. The beetle belongs to the family Silphidae which are carrion beetles. The beetles have sensitive antennae that contain olfactory organs. Thus, the beetle can locate dead animals (carcass), 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).
Nicrophorus pustulatus, also known as the pustulated carrion beetle or blistered burying beetle, is a species of burying beetle that was described by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1807. This species is native to North America. N. pustulatus exhibits unique habitat utilization and breeding behaviour relative to other members of the genus. This species may be the only described example of a true parasitoid targeting a vertebrate host.
Nicrophorus interruptus is a species of burying beetle or sexton beetle belonging to the family Silphidae subfamily Nicrophorinae.
Nicrophorus quadripunctatus is a species of burying beetle that predominates in East Asia. First described by German entomologist Ernst Kraatz in 1877, this beetle has since been the subject of much scientific inquiry—particularly concerning its parental care. Like other burying beetles, N. quadripunctatus inhabit small, vertebrate animal carcasses. This environment provides the beetles with the requisite nutrients for themselves and their offspring. To limit resource theft and predation, the carcass is buried underground. For additional protection, a single, dominant male-female pair guards the carcass cooperatively.
The American carrion beetle is a North American beetle of the family Silphidae. It lays its eggs in, and its larvae consume, raw flesh and fungi. The larvae and adults also consume fly larvae and the larvae of other carrion beetles that compete for the same food sources as their larvae. They prefer to live in marshy and woody habitats. Necrophila americana emerge from their larval state in the early summer. The P. ashtoni cuckoo bumble bee displays close mimicry with the American carrion beetle. They are important in forensic studies because of their tendency to thrive on large carcasses.
Poecilochirus is a Holarctic genus of mites in the family Parasitidae. They are relatively large and often found on rotting corpses, where they are transported by beetles. Deuteronymphs are characterized by two orange dorsal shields and in many species a transverse band on the sternal shield. The juvenile development consists of a larval stage, protonymph, and deuteronymph, but no tritonymph. Females are smaller than males. Males guard female deuteronymphs shortly before these mate, and pairs mate venter-to-venter.
Oiceoptoma noveboracense is a member of the family Silphidae, or carrion beetles, which feed on decaying organic matter such as dead animals. Its common name is the margined carrion beetle, from the orange-red margins on the pronotum, which are helpful when identifying this species. The larva is typically light brown to red and also has vertical ridges on its thorax like the adult. This diurnal beetle can be found mainly in the spring into the fall, and it has a strong preference towards a deciduous forest habitat. The primary forensic importance of this beetle is its ability to use the succession of insect fauna to provide confirmation of postmortem intervals.
Staphylininae are a subfamily of rove beetles. They contain the typical rove beetles with their long but fairly robust blunt-headed and -tipped bodies and short elytra, as well as some more unusually-shaped lineages.
Diamesus is a genus of rather large carrion beetle with two species distributed in tropical Asia and Australia. Like other Silphinae, it has an antenna with 11 segments. About 3 or 4 abdominal segments are visible beyond the tip of the elytra. The elytra themselves have longitudinal keels. The type species is Diamesus osculans. The larvae are broad and flat and somewhat cockroach-like (blattiform).
Silphinae is a subfamily of carrion beetles. There are 113 extant species of this subfamily, in two tribe and in 14 genera. It contains the following tribes and genera:
Ablattaria laevigata is a species of burying beetle or carrion beetle belonging to the family Silphidae.
Oiceoptoma is a genus of carrion beetles.
Diamesus osculans, is a species of carrion beetle found in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, China, Australia.
Necrodini is a tribe of carrion beetles in the subfamily Silphinae. It contains two genera - Necrodes and Diamesus.
Silphini is a tribe of carrion beetles in the subfamily Silphinae. It contains the following genera:
Necrodes littoralis, also known as the short sexton beetle, is a species of carrion beetle of the genus Necrodes, found in countries across Europe. As a carrion beetle, it feeds on decaying vertebrate remains and maggots. This species' feeding behaviors make it an important asset to forensic entomology.
