Carrion beetle

5730   Hi, I found this little guy on my concrete patio. It is a about 1.25 inches in length when the head was up and tail not sort of curled like in the photo. The insect was alive when I took the photo and was playing dead. I do Live in Edmonton Alberta and have never seen something like this. Just wondering what it was..      Thanks. The Van Der Kley’s

This is a beetle in the family Silphidae (carrion/burying/sexton beetles); it looks like Nicrophorus guttula – the yellow-bellied burying beetle, see http://tinyurl.com/gv92rbj for an image. These beetles locate and bury the carcasses of recently deceased small mammals or birds, and then deposit their eggs on the carcass that their larvae will feed upon. Some species exhibit a fair amount of parental care for their offspring. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.