Monday 27 August 2007

Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Nicrophorus humator
Adult Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator) at Cornwall - April 2014

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: 20-30mm  /  Wingspan: ?
UK STATUS NOT EVALUATED  IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

The Sexton Beetles are large carrion feeding beetles found in many places around the world.  They bury the carcasses of small vertebrates which provide the food for their grubs to develop in.  The family is generally covered in distinctive bright red bars, but the fact this particular species is entirely black actually makes it the easiest of the UK species to identify.

Related Species:
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Silphidae
Genus: Nicrophorus
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - A fairly common resident
 - Seen in Cornwall in April 2014

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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