Lovely! It was long thought to be a symbiotic relationship, but the mites are only beneficial to the beetles if there are enough fly eggs and larvae for them to eat, otherwise they will predate on the beetle eggs!

Thanks! 🙂

It sure is! 🖤

Great photo! This one, although very similar to Nicrophorus vespilloides, is Nicrophorus investigator (Banded Burying beetle). Clubs of the antenna are entirely black in N. vespilloides.

It was not overlooked. Those working with wild populations of #CarrionBeetles knew this already. It’s knowledge imparted to us by Professor Jan Růžička. We teach it in our workshops and it is mentioned in the atlas… where’s the acknowledgment of this?

Thanks for sharing! 🖤🧡

Thank you! ☺️

👏💀 Congrats, Nick. You’re in the club.

Fab! We’d be so grateful if you’d be willing to record your moth trap visitors via iRecord. Thanks if you already do! 🙂

irecord.org.uk/enter-casual...

Nice! This is the Red-breasted carrion beetle (Oiceoptoma thoracicum. Would be brilliant if you could upload your sighting to iRecord for us 🙂

irecord.org.uk/enter-casual...

Thanks, we approve!

AKA the Banded burying beetle 🧡🖤

We love this!! 👏

Yes they’re pretty strong aren’t they! You have to be, to bury a body…

That’s a lovely male N. humator.

AKA The Undertaker! Please do share this visitor to your trap via iRecord for us 🙂