Boreal burying beetle
Nicrophorus defodiens
The boreal burying beetle is a beetle from the northern forests of North America. Burying beetles are nature's cleaners. They bury small dead animals and use them as food for their young.
Lives in
The northern forests of North America
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is best not to pick it up, and wash your hands if you touch it.
What does it eat?
Like other burying beetles, it feeds on small dead animals and raises its young on them.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Boreal burying beetle about 0.5 km/h (0.31 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is one of only a few burying beetles known to raise their young high up in the treetops.
2
The male sends out a special smell to call a female.
3
The mother lays about 24 eggs, twice as many as one of its cousins.
you asked
Most asked questions about Boreal burying beetle
?What does the boreal burying beetle eat?
Small dead animals, which it also uses as food for its young.
?Is the boreal burying beetle dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Nicrophorus defodiens
- Named by
- Mannerheim, 1846
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Silphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Silphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Nicrophorus defodiens (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by USFWS - Pacific Region. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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