They say a true friend is one who will help you bury the body… But will they embalm it and kindly feed it to your babies too??
Teamwork makes the dreamwork for American burying beetles. Pairs of these large beetles bury dead animal carcasses together, lay their eggs on the body and feed regurgitated chunks of it to their larvae. Regardless of whether you have an “ew, gross!” or “oooh, cool!” reaction to that information, they play an important role in the ecosystem by speeding up the decomposition process and keeping fly populations under control.
The bad news is that the American burying beetle was listed as endangered over 30 years ago. The good news is that we have our own great friends in The Nature Conservancy and The Roger Williams Park Zoo (really, the list goes on) who are doing excellent work carrying out the American burying beetle recovery program and making sure that these beetles continue to exist in New England long into the future.
https://ow.ly/rU8M50Q4xXW
So, who’s your beetle bestie? Tag your partner in crime!
📷Courtesy of Scott Comings/The Nature Conservancy
