Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Rove, Carrion and Fungus Beetles (Staphylinoidea) » Carrion Beetles (Silphidae) » Sexton Beetles (Nicrophorus) » Nicrophorus orbicollis
Photo#86233
Black Bug with orange markings and orange-tipped antennae - Nicrophorus orbicollis
Copyright © 2006 Pamela Martin

Black Bug with orange markings and orange-tipped antennae - Nicrophorus orbicollis
Thomasburg, Hastings, Ontario, Canada
November 7, 2006
Size: 2-3 cm
I found this critter in the middle of the kitchen floor today. Don't know whether it crawled there from somewhere or got carried in, but it was big enough it wouldn't have been there long before being noticed. It was relatively calm and easy to pick up--but when I put it down outside it travelled fairly quickly away from me, though not so quickly I couldn't get a photo. Warm day, outside temperature around 11C.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Pamela Martin on 7 November, 2006 - 2:36pm
Last updated 7 November, 2006 - 8:16pm

Thanks!
Thank you commenters. Great to have this guy identified--but then I got to wondering: what was a burying beetle doing in my kitchen?!?
… Pamela Martin, 10 November, 2006 - 7:10am login or register to post comments

 
Do you have any bodies buried in your basement?
Just kidding. Sometimes people's kitchen trash smells like a rotting animal...

Most likely it was attracted to the house lights at night and came in when someone opened the door. It could have been lying low till that moment.
… Jim McClarin, 10 November, 2006 - 5:52pm login or register to post comments

 
At this time of the year he w
At this time of the year he was probably searching a place for pass the winter. This species overwinter as adult.
… Pierre-Marc Brousseau, 10 November, 2006 - 7:05pm login or register to post comments

 
I was under the impression they bury themselves.
They do spend a lot of time underground. They would be protected from dehydration and hard freezes. I have never heard of one trying to overwinter indoors.
… Jim McClarin, 10 November, 2006 - 9:41pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Sexton Beetles.
… john and jane balaban, 7 November, 2006 - 8:16pm login or register to post comments

N. orbicollis is my guess.
Compare.
… Jim McClarin, 7 November, 2006 - 6:37pm login or register to post comments

 
I'm agree
I'm agree with N. orbicollis. For be sure at 100% a picture of the side would be usefull.
… Pierre-Marc Brousseau, 7 November, 2006 - 7:00pm login or register to post comments

Sexton beetle.
This is a carrion beetle in the family Silphidae, specifically the genus Nicrophorus, known as sexton or burying beetles. They usually work in male and female pairs to bury the carcasses of small vertebrates. They are also chiefly nocturnal. A neat find, as they are not often seen.
… Eric R. Eaton, 7 November, 2006 - 3:10pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2010 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact