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Carrion Beetle Video Gallery

Here are movies of burying beetles, their mites, and their larvae. These files are best viewed with Windows Media Player 10.

Carrion beetles in the genus Nicrophorus bury small vertebrate carcasses. Usually, the male and female work cooperatively to accomplish this task.

Burial Ritual

Length: 17 sec

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Here a female carrion beetle has "discovered" a mouse on a board. She moves the mouse to an area where she can bury it.

Movement

Length: 31 sec

If a male finds a carcass and no females are around, he tries to attract a mate by standing on his head and releasing pheromone.

Headstand

Length: 10 sec

Taxi! Carrion beetles carry mites (termed phorecy) which are symbiotic. The mites use the beetles to move from carrion source to carrion source. Once delivered, they help the beetles by eating fly eggs.

Mite

Length: 16 sec

Sometimes, the mites can get out of control!!! This is a laboratory situation which probably led to the incredible number of mites.

Mites

Length: 16 sec

Carrion beetle-ese. Carrion beetle adults produce sound by stridulating (rubbing body parts together). In this videoclip, a male tries to convince a female to go on a date. Turn up your speakers to hear them "talk".

Stridulation

Length 22 sec

Larval action. This is what it is all about for the adults. Here, a brood chamber has been dug out and you can watch the very large larvae crawling about.

Larvae

Length 25 sec

Download Windows Media Player