Fake Nails That Move? No! A Bug To Discover!

I was taking a walk on the bike path near my house the other day with my partner when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. With his usual hawk-like eyes, he had spotted something interesting: a pile of fresh feces. It was teeming with life! And there we were, both crouched down for a good five minutes, staring at a pile of poop with far too much enthusiasm and attention, while cyclists and pedestrians continued to pass by.

But what captivated us so much were the large black and yellow beetles busily working on our smelly find. American carrion beetles (Necrophila americana), to be precise—and no, I didn’t invent that slightly dramatic Latin name!

Wanted: A Fake Nail That Moves

The first thing you notice when you see an American carrion beetle is how artificial it looks! With its shiny black body adorned with a bright yellow thorax, it really looks like a fake fingernail that has come to life and decided to go for a walk. It’s nothing like the fuzzy, warm appearance of a bumblebee! The beetle is between 1.5 and 2 cm long (1/2 to 3/4 inch), and its slightly rough elytra give it the appearance of a piece of plastic.

There is a historical anecdote about entomologists (the nickname for insect researchers) who were conducting research on bumblebees that makes me laugh. Fisher and Tuckerman wrote in 1986: “Our attention was drawn to the similarities between the females of Psithyrus ashtoni and the adults of Necrophila americana during the spring of 1982, when one of us, while searching for females of Psithyrus, mistakenly pursued an adult N. americana.”

Like a Bumblebee?

Okay, I’ll admit that from a distance, with their black and yellow colors, you could be forgiven for mistaking them. But up close? Honestly, it’s like confusing a cat with a dog because they both have four legs… The bumblebee is hairy and plump, while our beetle is flat and hairless! Nevertheless, this anecdote has stuck in people’s minds, as several sources cite the bumblebee as a lookalike for the carrion beetle! I’ll let you be the judge:

Another thing that fascinates me about this somewhat strange anecdote is that you don’t often see carrion beetles in flight. These beetles spend most of their time on the ground, busy with their decomposition business… In short, if you see something black and yellow flying around, it’s probably a real bumblebee! … … … Rereading this sentence, I realize that, deep down… That’s how we take it for granted that our carrion beetle is actually a bumblebee! Sorry for judging you, researchers!

Why Do We Love Carrion Beetles?

You could very well come across this insect in your own home. Not in the middle of your living room, don’t worry! But perhaps on excrement or the carcass of a small wild animal—although I imagine most of us don’t leave that kind of “decoration” lying around for long! This insect is a decomposer, and not just any decomposer! It is a scavenger that specializes in rotting carcasses. OLD dead animals.In fact, it’s a true specialist: unlike its burying cousins (Nicrophorus), which prefer fresh carcasses that they bury, our American carrion beetle specializes in older, dried-out carcasses. A clever strategy: less competition with flies!

Why is it sometimes found on feces if it specializes in old carcasses? Because carnivores’ feces sometimes contain undigested pieces of their prey or a little blood… in short, a tasty snack!

A Discreet but Effective Ally

This beetle is actually a friend of gardeners and worth getting to know, because when you come face to face with this rather sturdy and impressive beetle, it can be alarming if you don’t know what it is. But rest assured: this one is one of the good guys!

This beetle plays a crucial role in your garden’s ecosystem. It helps break down organic matter, releasing nutrients that will be available to your plants. Without it and its fellow decomposers, your garden would quickly become overrun with undecomposed debris and, without this beetle in particular, the remains of small birds and rodents. Yuck!

But its role doesn’t stop there! It’s doubly useful in decomposition, since it’s also a kind of bus for microscopic mites of the genus Poecilochirus, which travel on its back. Once they’ve arrived on a carcass or in your compost, these little mites detach themselves and start devouring fly eggs and larvae. The result? Less competition for beetle larvae and fewer annoying flies for you! It’s what we call a win-win-win relationship.

A Divine Role?

While researching necrophagous beetles (which eat dead matter) and coprophagous beetles (which eat excrement), I came across several divine representations featuring them. These decomposing beetles are present in several cults, not just among lovers of ecosystems!

They appear in ancient Egyptian myths, where the dung beetle was considered sacred. It was at the side of the god Ra, rolling the sun across the sky: poetic, isn’t it?

Closer to home, among the Cherokee people, it was a water beetle that created the Earth. According to their creation myth, before our planet existed, all creatures lived in a heavenly kingdom. However, space was beginning to run out. That’s when a water beetle decided to dive to the bottom of the primordial waters to fetch mud and bring it back to the surface. This mud gradually spread out to form an island that became our Earth. The Great Spirit, a spider, then stabilized it with ropes attached to the sky. I must say that I love mythologies that have beautiful stories about local flora and fauna… Perhaps a topic for my next series of Halloween articles to explore?

All this to say: if you come across an American carrion beetle in your backyard, say hello from me! No need to encourage it, attract it, or worry about it—it’s just a neighbor doing its job quietly, discreetly, and efficiently. It’s a sign that your decomposition cycle is working perfectly!

I’ll admit it’s not as photogenic as a butterfly or a ladybug (especially on some old poop!). But sometimes the most effective heroes on our land are the most discreet.