Common Burying Beetle vs Scarites Ground Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Burying Beetle Scarites Ground Beetle
Scientific Name Nicrophorus vespillo Scarites subterraneus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Silphidae Carabidae
Size 12-22 mm 15-22 mm
Habitat Underground Deserts & Drylands
Diet Carrion Feeders Omnivores
Regions Europe Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Burying Beetle

A large orange-and-black beetle that buries small animal carcasses for its larvae. Uses chemical cues to locate corpses from great distances. Shows remarkable parental care with both parents tending larvae.

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Did You Know?

Can bury a dead mouse completely underground in just a few hours by excavating soil from beneath the carcass.

Scarites Ground Beetle

A large, jet-black burrowing ground beetle found across eastern North America. Its powerful mandibles and flattened body are adapted for digging.

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Did You Know?

It constructs deep vertical burrows in soil from which it ambushes passing prey.