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Burying Beetle with mites

Nicrophorus vespillo

Photo by LornaSankey
Published on Project Noah
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52.3691, -1.4115

Field Notes

Description:

There are mites hitching a ride on it's underside-

"When burying beetles reach adulthood and strike out on their own, they take one thing with them - mites. A mated pair of burying beetles will bury the carcass of a mouse or other small animal. The parents raise their young on the carrion. But without the help of mites, the carcass would soon be teeming with maggots of the carrion fly and food would be in short supply. The mites carried on the burying beetle's cuticle feed on carrion fly eggs, preventing maggots from consuming the family's food."

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Photographed
PublishedFebruary 19, 2012

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