The American Burying Beetle is the largest carrion beetle in North America and is critically endangered, now persisting in only a handful of isolated populations. A pair of adults works together to bury a small carcass, on which the female lays eggs; they then guard and feed the larvae in an example of biparental care rare among insects. Its striking pattern of orange and black blotches stands out among carrion beetles.
Habitat
Grasslands and open forests with sandy soil in a few relict populations
Diet
Adults and larvae: small vertebrate carcasses
How common
Very rare
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