Roundneck sexton beetle
The roundneck sexton beetle is a black beetle with bright orange markings and orange tips on its feelers. It finds small dead animals and buries them in the ground. Then it lays its eggs next to them, so its babies have food.
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Fun facts
Mum and dad work together to bury a dead mouse or bird, sharing the work equally.
Unlike most beetles, both parents feed and protect their babies.
If one parent dies, the other one does both jobs so the babies are still cared for.
It comes out at night.
Tiny mites often ride around on its back.
Most asked questions about Roundneck sexton beetle
?What does the roundneck sexton beetle do?
It buries small dead animals to feed its young, which helps keep nature clean.
?Is the roundneck sexton beetle dangerous?
No. It does not bite or sting people.
?How big is the roundneck sexton beetle?
About 15 to 22 millimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Nicrophorus orbicollis
- Named by
- Say, 1825
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Silphidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Silphidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Nicrophorus orbicollis (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 Patricia Mullins. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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