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Subfamily Silphinae - Carrion Beetles

Sexton Beetle - Nicrophorus orbicollis Roundneck Sexton Beetle - Nicrophorus orbicollis American Carrion Beetle - Necrophila americana orange and black beetle - Nicrophorus investigator Nicrophorus americanus Thanatophilus truncatus? - Thanatophilus truncatus Pennsylvania Beetle  - Oiceoptoma noveboracense Nicrophorus pustulatus? - Nicrophorus pustulatus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Staphyliniformia)
Superfamily Staphylinoidea
Family Staphylinidae (Rove Beetles)
Subfamily Silphinae (Carrion Beetles)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
used to be treated as a separate family, Silphidae; arrangement here follows (1)
Explanation of Names
Silphinae Latreille 1806
Numbers
2 tribes, with 32 spp. in 9 genera in our area and >200 spp. in 20 genera total(2)
Identification
keys in (3)(4)(5)(6)
Habitat
wide variety of habitats, usually associated with carrion (also on rotting mushrooms, fruit, &c.); some come to lights
Food
scavengers and carrion feeders; Aclypea are herbivores and can damage garden plants; there are predatory silphids (e.g. the adventive Phosphuga atrata) who eat caterpillars & snails(7)
Remarks
Nicrophorus are among the very few beetles that exhibit parental care
See Also
Cychrini have somewhat similar larvae
Works Cited
1.Integrated phylogenomics and fossil data illuminate the evolution of beetles
Cai C et al. 2022. R. Soc. Open Sci. 9: 211771.
2.Catalogue of Life
3.The carrion beetles of Canada and Alaska (Coleoptera: Silphidae and Agyrtidae)
Anderson, R.S. and S.B. Peck. 1985. Agriculture Canada.
4.The Silphidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada
C.G. Majka. 2011. Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society 7: 83-101.
5.The Carrion Beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of Nebraska
Brett Ratcliffe. 1996. University of Nebraska State Museum.
6.The Carrion Beetles of North Dakota
Guy A. Hanley and David L Cuthrell. 2008. Minot State University.
7.American Beetles, Volume I: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia
Arnett, R.H., Jr., and M. C. Thomas. (eds.). 2000. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.