The struggle of the American Burying Beetle
My latest fascination is the American Burying beetle (ABB). At 1.5 inches long, they are the largest of the carrion beetles found in North America. Simultaneously, they manage to be interesting and gruesome. Here is an account of their basic life cycle. The male beetle finds a recently deceased animal with which to attract a female. Together they drag their find to a suitable location where it is stripped of feathers or fur. Then the happy couple secrete a coating of spit and anal fluid that deters maggots and buries it into a nesting chamber. Once prepared the female lays eggs and both parents tend to the care of the larvae, by feeding the offspring regurgitated pieces of their love find. Interestingly, co-parenting is rare in the insect world.
A hundred years ago the ABB was abundant in 35 states and Canada. Currently there are small communities in five mid western states, Texas and Block Island, Rhode Island. The ABB is considered extirpated, or no longer present in New Jersey. The ABB was listed on the federal endangered list from 1989-2020. In 2020 the ABB was downgraded from endangered to threatened. Generally this would be celebrated as an achievement, unfortunately for the ABB this is not the case. Scientists have been attempting to create breeding programs that introduce the beetle to new territories. As of 2020 the species had not reached the benchmark population as set out in the 1991 recovery plan. Erstwhile, the oil and gas industry had been lobbying for the species downgrade to develop land in Oklahoma. Under the Trump administration the species downlisting was granted.
As a carrion species the American Burying Beetle serves a vital clean-up role. According to the US Fish and Wildlife service the United States has lost more than 500 species and subspecies to extinction. Each and every species has a valuable ecological role in the balance of nature, and each loss destabilizes that fragile balance. The more we, as a nation, allow land to be consumed without forethought the more we feel the ecological effects.
American burying beetle, 11”×14”