Burying Beetle (genus Nicrophorus)

Observation by Gillian Brubaker:

I found this beetle in our cabin on McDonald Spit. It probably flew in the door. I don't recall seeing this kind of a beetle before. And checking in Insects of South-central Alaska, I was unable to find a good match. Is this a beetle that is endemic to Alaska?

Jessie Moan, Forest Health Technician with the UAF Cooperative Extension Service writes:

It looks like we have at least three species of Nicrophorus in Alaska. It's hard for me to know for certain which species without the specimen, but my guess would be either N. defodiens or N. vespilloides.

Comments from LEO Editors:

This appears to be a species of burying beetle (genus Nicrophorus), identified by the distinct orange markings on the wing covering, and club-tipped antennae. Nicrophorus belongs to the beetle family Silphidae, or carrion beetles. These beetles feed primarily on dead animals, and play an important ecosystem role by quickly returning nutrients to the soil. Burying beetles over-winter as adults, and emerge the following summer to reproduce. A mating pair of burying beetles will bury a carcass, and treat it with anti-microbial secretions before laying eggs. When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the buried carrion before emerging.

Burying beetles are commonly found across the U.S. and Canada in areas where there is loose soil that can be easily moved, such as grassland areas, riparian zones, deciduous and coniferous forests, among others. Populations of burying beetle species may fluctuate based on weather patterns, and changes in the populations of animals the beetles feed on as carrion. Source: American Burying Beetle Species Profile, authored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Erica Lujan