Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sexton Beetles

Sexton Beetles
Silpha vespillo (Linnaeus 1758)

Sexton beetles, also know as burying beetles have a keen sense of smell and are attracted to rotting bodies, such as dead birds or small mammals such as mice and rats. First, the beetles mate, then set to work to bury the carcass, by digging out the soil beneath it. They then lay their eggs in a chamber dug into the soil next to the carcass. When the larvae hatch, they feed on the decaying flesh of the decaying corpse.
- World of Animals, M. Walters & J. Johnson

No comments:

Post a Comment