Nicrophorus interruptus
Encyclopedia
For the species misidentified by Gaspard Auguste Brullé
in 1832 and again by Gistel
in 1857, declared a new species under the name Nicrophorus basalis, but later corrected, see Nicrophorus vestigator
Nicrophorus interruptus is a species of burying beetles or sexton beetles belonging to the family Silphidae subfamily Nicrophorinae.
These beetles are present in most of Europe
, in the East Palearctic ecozone, in the Near East
and in North Africa
.
The adults grow up to 26 millimetres (1 in) long. They are mostly black with two orange-red markings on the elytra and a yellow pubescence on protruding abdominal segments. They have large club-like antennae equipped with black and reddish tips containing chemoreceptors, capable of detecting a dead animal from a long way away. In fact they bury the carcasses of small vertebrates such as birds and mouses as a food source for their larvae.
In Nicrophorus interruptus both the male and female parents take care of the brood, quite rare behaviour among insects. The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass, forming the crypt, where the carcass will remain until the flesh has been completely consumed. Although the larvae are able to feed themselves, both parents also feed them by regurgitated liquid food.
The adult beetles continue to protect the larvae, which take several days to mature.. The final-stage larvae migrate into the soil and pupate, transforming from small white larvae to fully formed adult beetles.
Gaspard Auguste Brullé
Gaspard Auguste Brullé was a French entomologist.Passionnate about insects from a young age and through the intervention of Georges Cuvier, he participated in the Morea expedition organised by Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent in 1829.In 1832, he participated in the foundation of the Société...
in 1832 and again by Gistel
Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel
Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel Johannes von Nepomuk Franz Xaver Gistel (1809 - 1873 (or 1874) was a German naturalist.He was the author of works on entomology such as Die jetzt lebenden Entomologen, Kerffreunde und kerfsammler Europa’s und der...
in 1857, declared a new species under the name Nicrophorus basalis, but later corrected, see Nicrophorus vestigator
Nicrophorus vestigator
-References:http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/nicroweb/PDFs/Sikes_et_al_2002.pdf...
Nicrophorus interruptus is a species of burying beetles or sexton beetles belonging to the family Silphidae subfamily Nicrophorinae.
These beetles are present in most of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, in the East Palearctic ecozone, in the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
and in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
The adults grow up to 26 millimetres (1 in) long. They are mostly black with two orange-red markings on the elytra and a yellow pubescence on protruding abdominal segments. They have large club-like antennae equipped with black and reddish tips containing chemoreceptors, capable of detecting a dead animal from a long way away. In fact they bury the carcasses of small vertebrates such as birds and mouses as a food source for their larvae.
In Nicrophorus interruptus both the male and female parents take care of the brood, quite rare behaviour among insects. The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass, forming the crypt, where the carcass will remain until the flesh has been completely consumed. Although the larvae are able to feed themselves, both parents also feed them by regurgitated liquid food.
The adult beetles continue to protect the larvae, which take several days to mature.. The final-stage larvae migrate into the soil and pupate, transforming from small white larvae to fully formed adult beetles.
Subspecies
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. algiricus Pasquet, 1916
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. brunnipes Gradl, 1882
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. centrimaculatus Reitter, 1895
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. nigricans Pasquet, 1916
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. pasqueti Pic, 1917
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. trimaculatus Gradl, 188
- Nicrophorus interruptus var. trinotatus Reitter, 1911