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Carrion beetle

 
Carrion Beetle

 
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Carrion beetle
 
 
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Silphidae is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of beetle
Beetle

Beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are placed in the order Coleoptera , which contains more described species than in any other order in the animal, constituting about 25% of all known life-forms....
s, commonly known as (black) carrion beetles or burying beetles, comprising about 200 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
. Many species are carnivorous, although some are carrion-feeders.

The genera Phosphuga, Ablattaria and Silpha
Silpha

Silpha is a genus of the family Silphidae, or Carrion Beetles. The two major species found in North America are the American Carrion Beetle and the Northern Carrion Beetle ....
 are mainly snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
 hunters. They spray digestive fluid into the snail-shell, and afterwards they suck the prey out of its shell. A very widely distributed European
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 species is Phosphuga atrata
Phosphuga atrata

Phosphuga atrata is a Europe carrion beetle that feeds on live snails, insects and earthworms, as well as on carrion. The beetle is up to 15mm long and has an elongated neck, which is used to reach into snail shells, which it sprays with a digestive fluid....
.

The carrion beetles of the genus Dendroxena (junior synonym Xylodrepa) hunt caterpillar
Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous....
s, while Aclypea (junior synonym Blitophaga) are considered as pests, because they feed on garden plants.

The best-known members of the family are the burying beetle
Burying beetle

Burying beetles or sexton beetles are the best-known members of the family Silphidae . Burying beetles are true to their name. Most of these beetles are black with red markings on the elytron ....
s (Nicrophorus Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius

Johan Christian Fabricius was a Denmark entomologist and economist.Fabricius was born at T?nder in the duchy of Schleswig. He studied at the gymnasium at Altona and entered the University of Copenhagen in 1762....
, 1775), which are carrion-eating beetles.








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Silphidae is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of beetle
Beetle

Beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are placed in the order Coleoptera , which contains more described species than in any other order in the animal, constituting about 25% of all known life-forms....
s, commonly known as (black) carrion beetles or burying beetles, comprising about 200 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
. Many species are carnivorous, although some are carrion-feeders.

The genera Phosphuga, Ablattaria and Silpha
Silpha

Silpha is a genus of the family Silphidae, or Carrion Beetles. The two major species found in North America are the American Carrion Beetle and the Northern Carrion Beetle ....
 are mainly snail
Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
 hunters. They spray digestive fluid into the snail-shell, and afterwards they suck the prey out of its shell. A very widely distributed European
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 species is Phosphuga atrata
Phosphuga atrata

Phosphuga atrata is a Europe carrion beetle that feeds on live snails, insects and earthworms, as well as on carrion. The beetle is up to 15mm long and has an elongated neck, which is used to reach into snail shells, which it sprays with a digestive fluid....
.

The carrion beetles of the genus Dendroxena (junior synonym Xylodrepa) hunt caterpillar
Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous....
s, while Aclypea (junior synonym Blitophaga) are considered as pests, because they feed on garden plants.

The best-known members of the family are the burying beetle
Burying beetle

Burying beetles or sexton beetles are the best-known members of the family Silphidae . Burying beetles are true to their name. Most of these beetles are black with red markings on the elytron ....
s (Nicrophorus Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius

Johan Christian Fabricius was a Denmark entomologist and economist.Fabricius was born at T?nder in the duchy of Schleswig. He studied at the gymnasium at Altona and entered the University of Copenhagen in 1762....
, 1775), which are carrion-eating beetles.

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Identification