Sexton/burying beetle

6531. Winnipeg, Mb. Canada

Number 6531.  This is a sexton/burying beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in the genus Nicrophorus. It looks like Nicrophorus tomentosus, known as the tomentose burying beetle. Unlike other Canadian Nicrophorus, the adults do not bury the carcasses (small mammals/birds) they find, but make a shallow pit and cover the carcass with litter. Click here and Click here for images.