Carrion beetle

Shore Sexton Beetle (Necrodes littoralis)

Our moth trap turns up quite a few non-moth species on most nights. While most are various species of flies, occasionally we get something larger, like this Shore Sexton Beetle (Necrodes littoralis). It was lurking underneath one of the egg boxes when we emptied the trap in the morning. The long ridges on the elytra (the hard cases that cover the wings) and the distinctive bumps towards the posterior end of those elytra help to identify it. So do the orange tips to its antennae — tips that are the more or less the same width as the rest of the antennae stalks (as opposed to being larger, rounded clubs). These big beetles are carrion specialists. They travel for distances up to a mile, following the smell of dead animals. Unlike some species of sexton beetles, they do not bury their finds. Instead, the female lays her eggs in the soil near the body; within a few days, the larvae hatch and move to the body. She stays with her brood, feeding on the carrion, and on the eggs and larvae of other insects attracted to the carcass. Shore Sexton Beetles are fairly local in England. Though they're most common along the coasts, they're also being increasingly reported inland. They're particularly attracted to lights, and regularly turn up in moth traps, like ours did. And, for a bit of grossness that you can share at your next dinner party, forensic pathologists can determine the age of a cadaver using the presence and size of the larvae and adults of this species found in the body.