Nebraskaland

12 Nebraskaland • June 2020 IN THE FIELD By Melissa J. Panella THREATENED AND ENDANGERED: THE AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE The American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) looks like an intimidating specimen, cloaked in fiery orange and black and measuring over an inch long. But, looks can be deceiving because this giant beetle is harmless. It is one of nature's recyclers. American burying beetles are carrion feeders – not predators but instead specialized feeders of dead animals. American burying beetles will smell a dead animal up to 2 miles away. As their name implies, a pair of American burying beetles will bury a carcass by digging diligently to remove the earth underneath it. The small- to medium-sized dead animal gradually sinks lower into the ground. The pair then removes the fur or feathers from the carcass, rolls it into a rounded shape, and coats it in secretions that slow decomposition. The beetles do this to provide a food source that will be ready when their eggs hatch, releasing a dozen or so hungry offspring to feast. Animals like the American burying beetle serve an important function in the natural world by recycling organic material into ecosystems. They also help to eliminate vast numbers of microbes from the environment that otherwise could prove to be harmful to other animals or even to humans. Unfortunately, this giant carrion beetle is endangered both in Nebraska and elsewhere in the United States. Multiple factors likely contributed to the endangered status. The beetles can be vulnerable to pesticides and conversion of grassland habitat to other uses. The passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), extinct since 1914, used to fill the sky as the most abundant bird in North America. As the pigeons were overhunted for food, unregulated sport and feathered embellishments on hats, their sharp declines were associated with fewer numbers of the beetles. It is likely that there was less of a food source for the beetles as the pigeons were being eliminated. In Nebraska, American burying beetles live in the Sandhills and a few other areas in the state. The Commission is working with conservation organizations and researchers to monitor and improve habitat for endangered American burying beetles with a project focused on the Loess Canyons, Niobrara River and the Elkhorn River headwaters biologically unique landscapes – areas with known occurrences of at-risk species and natural communities. In coordination with dedicated biologists, the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project is working to prevent the American burying beetle from going the way of the passenger pigeon. Melissa J. Panella is a wildlife biologist for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER

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