carrion/burying beetle

5807  HI my name is Kevin. I’m from Sundre, Alberta, Canada. It’s the beginning of fall.  I have found these beetles in my house before and upon hours of looking online I can’t seem to find a match for them. Ive found some close but not the same. This one is approximately 2-2.5cm long. And they smell absolutely vile when you kill them.

This is Necrodes surinamensis, a carrion/burying beetle (Coleoptera/Silphidae) known as the redlined carrion beetle. Beetles in this family are nature’s recyclers, disposing of the carcasses of small birds and mammals as they feed their young; see http://tinyurl.com/hc2ns72 for more details. In the future, please release outdoors any of these that should find their way inside, so that they may carry out their duties.
Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.