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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DaveN" data-source="post: 1611739" data-attributes="member: 65975">I went out with the family for a walk in the woods earlier and came across a Beetle I can't recall seeing before. What caught my eye at first was a dead Shrew that was actually moving. On closer inspection I could see several of these  Beetles on and even inside the dead Shrew. I managed to get a photo of one the Beetles so I could try and ID it when I got home. They are called Sexton Beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides). I've copied and pasted a bit of info on their lifestyle.Several beetles are known as Sexton, burying or grave digging beetles for their habit of carrying off the dead. These are carrion eaters and are usually to be found around - or in (!), the corpses of dead animals and birds. The bodies of small creatures are buried by the beetles excavating a hollow under the corpse and dragging it underground. They then lay their eggs by the body which will provide the food source for the emerging larvae.Despite their gory life style the beetles are good mothers. They stay with the newly hatched grubs, feeding them partially digested food and biting holes in the carcase to allow the grubs to enter it and fend for themselves.This particular species is only about 16mm long although other Nicrophorus species can reach 30mm in length. The image shows that the beetle can carry a group of mites which will be transported from one food source to another.Incidentally, the original name for the genus is thought to have been 'Necrophorus' (from necro; a dead body), but somewhere along the line, an early scribe mis-spelled it and the 'nicro' prefix has been perpetuated.</blockquote>

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