American Carrion Beetle

Necrophila americana

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 its larvae.
American Carrion Beetle This is a picture of an American Carrion Beetle at Fort Smallwood Park in Pasadena, Maryland. American Carrion Beetle,Fall,Geotagged,Necrophila americana,United States

Appearance

Adults are 12 to 22 mm long. The pronotum is primarily a pale yellow with a black spot in the center. In the southern portion of the range, the elytra are entirely black while in the northern portion they have a yellow rear tip. The elytra are shorter than the body of the beetle, leaving the tail end slightly exposed. The larvae are black and appear armored.
American Carrion Beetle - Necrophila americana Such a cool find! This beetle was moving fast, but I managed to get a quick shot of it! Approximately 20 mm long. The pronotum is pale yellow with a black splotch in the center. Elytra are black with yellow tips. I spotted this beetle on the side of a river in a deciduous forest. Carrion beetles lay eggs in raw flesh. After hatching, the larvae consume the carrion. Larvae (and adults) also eat fly and beetle larvae that compete for the same food sources. American Carrion Beetle,American carrion beetle,Crusader Carrion Beetle,Geotagged,Necrophila,Necrophila americana,Silphidae,Spring,United States,beetle,carrion beetle

Naming

Necrophila americana (Linnaeus)
Orig. Comb: Silpha americana Linnaeus 1758
Necrophila americana (American Carrion Beetle) feeding on the fruiting structure of Phallus impudicus (Common Stinkhorn Fungus) There were anywhere from four to six beetles on the fungus and many flies (Calliphora vomitoria and Lucilia sp.). Within an hour they had completely consumed the fungus. American Carrion Beetle,Calliphora vomitoria,Coleoptera,Common Stinkhorn,Geotagged,Lucilia,Necrophila americana,Phallus impudicus,Silphidae,Summer,United States,beetle,fungus,insect

Distribution

Eastern North America (Nova Scotia to Florida and Manitoba to east Texas)
American Carrion Beetle - Necrophila americana Approximately 20 mm long. The pronotum is pale yellow with a black splotch in the center. Elytra are black with yellow tips. I spotted this beetle on a fresh pile of scat in a deciduous forest. Carrion beetles lay eggs in raw flesh. After hatching, the larvae consume the carrion. Larvae (and adults) also eat fly and beetle larvae that compete for the same food sources. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/79110/american_carrion_beetle_-_necrophila_americana.html American Carrion Beetle,Geotagged,Necrophila americana,Spring,United States,beetle

Habitat

In moist woods on carrion, fungus, sapping tree wounds; prefer larger carrion, "rat-sized or larger".
American Carrion Beetle At Patapsco This is a picture of an American Carrion Beetle at Patapsco Valley State Park in Catonsville, Maryland. American Carrion Beetle,Geotagged,Necrophila americana,Spring,United States

Food

Adults consume fly larvae (maggots) at carrion, as well as some carrion; larvae eat carrion, maggots, and beetle larvae, may prefer dried skin, bits of flesh after maggots have departed. Adults will also eat tree sap.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://bugguide.net/node/view/6744
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderColeoptera
FamilySilphidae
GenusNecrophila
SpeciesN. americana
Photographed in
United States of America