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General: Beetles (Order Coleoptera) are abundant and exceptionally diverse, far too diverse for me to identify them all. On this page, I've put a collection of beetles collected from underneath a dead Turkey Vulture, emphasizing "looking at beetles" rather than "obsessing over identifying" them. |
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Dead Turkey Vulture. Vultures eat dead things, cleaning up the world for the rest of us. But what happens when a Turkey Vulture dies? In this case, the beetles come to do the job. |
Beetles found under dead Turkey Vulture |
The speckled ones look like Hide Beetles (Dermestes maculatus).
Family: Skin Beetles (Dermestidae)
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Beetles found under dead Turkey Vulture |
Larger ones with white/gray are Common Carrion Beetle (Dermestes marmoratus).
Family: Skin Beetles (Dermestidae)
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Common Carrion Beetle (Dermestes marmoratus) |
Common Carrion Beetle (Dermestes marmoratus) |
Beetles found under dead Turkey Vulture |
All black ones look like Black Burying Beetles (Nicrophorus nigrita).
Family: Burying and Carrion Beetles (Silphidae)
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Black Burying Beetles (Nicrophorus nigrita) |
Black Burying Beetles (Nicrophorus nigrita) |