Carrion Beetle
Posted by Bridget Haines on August 20, 2005
Q: I discovered a dead juvenile gannet washed up on the beach after a full moon high tide. Brought the creature home to prepare the skull and its carcass attracted various carrion beetles, one species (at least four individual beetles) seemed to have been the American Burying Beetle. Could this be a possibility?
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Massachusetts
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: Wow, I sure hope it's the North American Burying Beetle! Since there are still some living in your area of the East, I'd say it's possible, although not probable, that what you have is this endangered species. Keep in mind that there are several different species of burying beetles across the continent. See if you can get a good look at the adults without disturbing them too much and then if you're reasonably sure what they are, I'd contact some of the people working on the reintroduction project. If you can contact interested people, I'm sure they'll be extremely interested in the fact that there may be another location of these animals. I've included some online sites that show a picture of the beetle and provide info on it so you can learn a bit more about them. Take a look at these sites:
This last address is a government site that should lead you to an authority who can follow-up on your discovery. Best of luck to you - I really hope you're right. Thanks for sharing.
John Wiessinger ( August 21, 2005)