Northern carrion beetle can detect the scent of a decaying organism up to 3 km away.

Northern carrion beetle

Yesterday I found a dead bird.  Normally, that would give me pause for the loss of one of my feathered friends, but in this case it meant that I might be able to find some carrion beetles.  And I found at least three, possibly four different species I have never seen before.

The largest was the northern carrion beetle.  There were a couple of them I found crawling around the remains of whatever flesh was left, even a pair engaged in reproducing.  They could be seen crawling through various cavities; I moved the bird and managed to photograph one by itself.  The black, dimpled elytra (wing covers) are characteristic, as is the fact that they do not cover the entire abdomen. Another common feature is the clubbed antennae, which you can see in the specimen.

 Northern carrier beetles live in temperate climates and often manage to go through two generations per year.  The adults from the fall generation overwinter and begin the next generation in the spring.  These carrion beetles would be from last year, as it is still a few weeks before summer begins.

The clubbed antennae have sensory receptors in them that allow them to detect carrion from up to a mile away.  The chemoreceptors can detect faint traces of sulphur-based compounds associated with decaying organisms.  They can also determine direction and, to some extent, the degree of decay.  They can often find organisms that have died recently, within the space of a few hours.  They lay their eggs on the carcass, giving their brood as much time to mature within the rotting flesh as possible.

Apparently, from what I have read, these beetles are good for anyone who wants to remove all the flesh off a vertebrate to reveal its skeleton.  Makes me think on an episode of the TV series Bones.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com