Gravedigger beetles don't look away when there is carrion lying around in the woods and fields. Carcasses are buried with combined forces and recycled as a rearing station for the offspring. Ingenious collaborations and conservation techniques slow decomposition. A compact profile lists breathtaking characteristics of carrion beetles. We invite you to a fascinating journey through the blessed life of an ecological jewel on six legs.

The gravedigger beetle has an important function in the ecosystem

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Gravedigger Beetle Wanted Poster
  3. Ecologically beneficial propagation method
  4. Dream team gravedigger mites
  5. Beetle-style preservation
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • Gravedigger beetles are elongated-oval, 12-26 mm in size, black with two red-yellow transverse bands with a zigzag pattern on the elytra (black gravedigger is an exception)
    • Common Gravedigger and Black Gravedigger wear red and yellow antennae. Black-horned gravedigger has black antennae
    • Gravediggers are valuable beneficials because the carrion beetles use carcasses as a source of food and breeding grounds

    Gravedigger Beetle - Wanted Poster

    Gravedigger beetles are very useful insects

    Scientists could not have chosen a more appropriate name. Gravedigger beetles are nature's undertakers, because they are busy disposing of carrion. Carcasses up to the size of a mouse are not only buried, but expertly processed and reused as a food source and breeding ground for their larvae.

    mortician undertaker Common gravedigger Black Gravedigger Black-horned Gravedigger
    size 12-22mm 18-26mm 12-18mm
    color black black black
    elytra red-yellow jagged transverse bands black red-yellow serrated transverse bands
    antennae lobes Red orange Red orange black
    food carrion carrion carrion
    activity diurnal diurnal diurnal
    botanical name Nicrophorus vespillo Nicrophorus humator Nicrophorus vespilloides
    family carrion beetle carrion beetle carrion beetle
    Happen Asia, Europe to Finland Asia, Europe to southern Scandinavia Asia, Europe to British Isles

    The gravedigger beetle reinforces its reputation as a beneficial insect with other food preferences. The species found in Europe enjoy devouring rotting plant material and preying on insects and larvae. The prey pattern includes a number of pests that make life difficult for hobby gardeners in the garden, on the balcony and terrace.

    digression

    In the apartment a rare guest

    Every now and then a gravedigger beetle gets lost in an apartment. This usually happens in the dark season when the beetles lose their orientation in artificial light and stray into the house. This is nothing to worry about, as gravediggers are non-venomous and do not bite or sting. Cut off from its natural food sources, this disaster means the beneficial insect's death sentence. If you have admired the rare guest properly, please initiate a rescue operation using the glass trick. Because gravedigger beetles are not as quick as other beetles in the apartment, you can easily put a glass over the insect. Now slide a piece of cardboard or double-folded paper underneath, carry your guest outside and release them.

    Ecologically beneficial propagation method

    Gravedigger beetles practice a fascinating reproduction strategy for nature's blessing. The following overview tries to present the complex process in comprehensible steps. Accompany us with the sophisticated family formation in the kingdom of the carrion beetles:

    Hatchery Search

    Mating season is in May

    From May onwards, male gravediggers go in search of dead small animals as an ideal breeding ground. Small rodents such as voles or moles and birds are primarily considered. Found beetle masters attract females ready to mate. The celebrated courtship ritual is called Sterzeln. The male seductively stretches his rear end up and wags it promisingly. Should competing males, attracted by the smell of carrion, appear, territorial fights will ensue to clarify ownership rights. Female gravediggers, on the other hand, are welcome and will not be attacked.

    mating and egg laying

    Immediately after mating, the expectant beetle parents dig a burrow under the carcass, which then begins to sink in. After six hours the animal corpse is already underground and after 30 hours it has reached its final position in the crypt. In the course of this work, hair or feathers are removed and the carrion takes on a spherical shape.

    Starting from the crypt, the female digs a mother tunnel and lays her eggs in it. Egg-laying never takes place directly in carrion. The lady beetle then eats a crater in the carcass, the so-called feeding crater. Here the female waits patiently for the first larva to hatch.

    Larvae hatching and brood care

    Carcasses serve as food and breeding grounds

    Within a few hours, the larvae hatch from the eggs and unerringly migrate towards their mother. To help you find your way around, she has prudently marked the breeding site with scents beforehand. During the first two molts, the offspring are fed from mouth to mouth by both parents. After the second moult, the larvae have sufficiently powerful mouthparts to eat the carcass themselves. In addition, feeding is continued to cover the high energy requirements of the fast-growing larvae. The larval development with a total of three molts extends over a period of 4 to 6 days, closely accompanied by the intensive brood care of the adult beetles.

    The larvae then leave the hatchery to burrow into the ground some distance away and pupate there. Another 14 days pass before the finished gravedigger beetles leave their cradle. All that remains of the carcass is an empty shell.

    tips

    Gravedigger Beetles are real chatterboxes. The beetles communicate constantly with the help of chirping noises, during the strenuous burial of a carcass and the exhausting care of the brood. If you hike through nature with open ears, you have a good chance of overhearing gravedigger beetles and admiring them at work.

    Dream team of the forest - gravediggers and mites

    Gravedigger beetles gain an advantage over food competitors by joining forces to bury their prey. This process takes a long time, which flies use to lay their eggs on the carcass. This is where mites come into play, with the help of which clever gravediggers thwart the competition. The following overview summarizes how the plan works:

    1. Gravedigger Beetle sniffs dead mouse
    2. Beetle paces the carcass and lifts it to check size and weight for potential breeding ground
    3. Mites brought along move from the beetle to the carcass to devour fly eggs

    The result of this win-win symbiosis: mites can be conveniently transported to the food source by the beetle taxi. No voracious maggots develop on the carcass, the beetle larvae eating away the supplies.

    In the following video you can follow impressive pictures of how a black-horned gravedigger transports mites as passengers to the carrion.

    youtube

    Ingenious conservation - gravedigger beetle slows down decay

    The use of mites as a cleaning crew against fly eggs is not enough for the gravedigger beetle to protect the brood chamber. In order to slow down the decomposition, the cadaver is expertly prepared. The cunning beetles have their own preservatives on board, as knowledge-thirsty entomologists at the Max Planck Institute in Jena found out.

    An animal corpse, cleaned of hair and processed into a meatball, is given a special treatment with secretions. This cocktail makes the brood chamber last longer. During this process, gravediggers coat the food with a film of bacteria and yeast. The antimicrobial substance is produced in the intestines of the carrion beetle and sprayed onto the carcass. As a result, decomposition slows, essential nutrients are retained, and the formation of toxic carcasses is inhibited.

    frequently asked Questions

    I have a gravedigger beetle running around in my apartment. What to do?

    There is no need to worry because the beetle just lost its way. Please capture the involuntary guest alive. Ideally, you should have a live insect trap handy for this purpose. Alternatively, arm yourself with a glass and a piece of cardboard. Put the glass over the beetle. Slowly slide the cardboard under the glass, carry the glass prison outside with its inmates and release the gravedigger to freedom.

    Are Gravedigger Beetles Poisonous to Humans or Pets?

    Gravedigger beetles are not dangerous to humans or animals

    No, gravedigger beetles pose no danger to humans or pets. The beetles do not bite and have no sting. On the contrary, carrion beetles are useful as health police because they dispose of animal carcasses and eat decaying plant matter. In addition, gravediggers prey on other insects and larvae, including a number of biting and stinging pests.

    What does a gravedigger beetle look like?

    A gravedigger beetle is 12 to 22 cm long. Its elongated-oval body is black. The elytra are decorated with two wide, orange-yellow transverse bands with a zigzag border. Elytra, pronotum and ventral edges are hairy light yellow. The color of the tentacles differs depending on the species. The tentacles of the black-horned gravedigger (Nicrophorus vespilloides) are uniformly black. Common Gravedigger (Nicrophorus vespillo) and Black Gravedigger (Nicrophorus humator) show off their red-orange antennae.

    What lower classification of the gravedigger beetle is there?

    The gravedigger beetle genus is represented worldwide with 70 species. The three species of common gravedigger (Nicrophorus vespillo), black gravedigger (Nicrophorus humator) and black-horned gravedigger (Nicrophorus vespilloides) are primarily relevant for Europe as a lower classification. Rarely encountered is the largest native gravedigger species, called Nicrophorus germanicus, with a body length of up to 30 millimeters.

    Where can you find Gravedigger Beetles?

    Gravedigger beetles are everywhere where dead small animals are lying around. Carcasses are easiest to bury in the loose forest soil for use as a breeding chamber and food source. The best chances of meeting the unique carrion beetles are therefore in the forest, preferably on the sunny edge of the forest.

    tips

    Exemplary teamwork among gravedigger beetles goes beyond loving brood care. Researchers from the US National Academy of Sciences have observed that orphaned gravedigger beetle larvae stick together tightly. When neither parent serves the food bite-sized, the larvae join forces to process the meat until it is suitable for consumption. Not only the biological siblings benefit from this phenomenal cooperation. Abandoned larvae from neighboring gravedigger families are also integrated into the team.

Category:

Animals in the garden