Tomentose Burying Beetle (with Phoretic Mites) - Nicrophorus tomentosus

This beetle was more like a "carry-on" beetle as it was covered in mites. These beetles have very sensitive antennae, which have olfactory organs that help them locate carcasses. However, unlike other burying beetles, this species has a unique technique - they eliminate the soil under a carcass, so that the carcass will then sink below the ground after which they cover it with loose soil and leaves. They typically eat the carcasses of small vertebrate animals, including moles, rats, and mice. Once they locate a food source, they first remove any hair/feathers, roll the carcass into a ball, and then spray it with a secretion in order to preserve it. The larvae eat regurgitated food from both parents and also feed straight from the carcass. The phoretic mites are beneficial for the beetles - they hitchhike to the carcass and then they eat maggots and fly eggs found in/on the flesh. So, they actually clean and remove from the carcass any potential competitors of the carrion beetle’s larva. Pretty cool example of mutualism.

Habitat: I spotted two of these beetles feasting on some kind of dead, rotting critter on top of a large rock in a mostly deciduous forest. I spotted them because my kids and I usually rest and have a snack on this rock whenever we go on this particular hike. But, over the past few weeks, a fox has been leaving it's own "snacks" and feces on our rock. I'm guessing it's marking its territory. Now, the carrion beetles have moved in, thanks to the fox's "gifts".