Editing Burying beetle (section)

==Reproduction==
Burying beetles have large club-like [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] equipped with [[chemoreceptor]]s capable of detecting a dead animal from a long distance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Environment and Climate Change |date=2012-10-10 |title=American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2011 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/american-burying-beetle-2011.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> After finding a carcass (most usually that of a small [[bird]] or a [[mouse]]), beetles fight amongst themselves (males fighting males, females fighting females) until the winning pair (usually the largest) remains. If a lone beetle finds a carcass, it may continue alone and await a partner. Single males attract mates by releasing a [[pheromone]] from the tip of their abdomens. Females can raise a brood alone, fertilizing her eggs using sperm stored from previous [[Copulation (zoology)|copulations]].<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Benowitz |first1=Kyle M. |last2=Moore |first2=Allen J. |date=December 2016 |title=Biparental care is predominant and beneficial to parents in the burying beetle Nicrophorus orbicollis (Coleoptera: Silphidae) |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=119 |issue=4 |pages=1082–1088 |pmc=5181846 |pmid=28025585 |doi=10.1111/bij.12830 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The carcass is usually buried by the beetle(s) to hide it from potential competitors, which are numerous.

An example of a species of ''Nicrophorus'' that displays this form of bi-parental care and burying activity is ''[[Nicrophorus nepalensis]]''. Pairs of ''Nicrophorus nepalensis'' prepare carcasses and care for the developing larvae in a joint fashion. After burying a carcass, the beetles mate and lay eggs near/on the carcass. When the eggs hatch into larvae they begin feeding on the flesh of the carcass. The adults remain until the larvae begin to pupate.

'''Burying beetle life cycle'''

The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass. While doing so, and after removing all hair from the carcass, the beetles cover the animal with antibacterial and antifungal oral and anal secretions, slowing the decay of the carcass and preventing the smell of rotting flesh from attracting competition.<ref name=":03" /> The carcass is formed into a ball and the fur or feathers stripped away and used to line and reinforce the crypt, also known as a nursery, where the carcass will remain until the flesh has been completely consumed.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last=Smiseth |first=P. T. |date=July 2004 |title=Behavioral dynamics between caring males and females in a beetle with facultative biparental care |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=621–628 |doi=10.1093/beheco/arh053 |doi-access=free |issn=1465-7279|hdl=10.1093/beheco/arh053 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The burial process can take around 8 hours. Several pairs of beetles may cooperate to bury large carcasses and then raise their broods communally.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Muller |first=J. K. |date=March 2003 |title=Nestmate recognition in burying beetles: the "breeder's badge" as a cue used by females to distinguish their mates from male intruders |journal=Behavioral Ecology |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=212–220 |doi=10.1093/beheco/14.2.212 |doi-access=free |issn=1465-7279}}</ref>

The female burying beetle lays eggs in the soil around the crypt.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Environment and Climate Change |date=2012-10-10 |title=American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2011 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/american-burying-beetle-2011.html |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> The larvae hatch after a few days and move into a pit in the carcass which the parents have created. Although the larvae are able to feed themselves, both parents also feed the larvae in response to [[Begging behavior in animals|begging]]: they digest the flesh and [[Regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitate]] liquid food for the larvae to feed on, a form of [[progressive provisioning]].<ref name=":42" /> This probably speeds up larval development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=EGGERT |first1=ANNE-KATRIN |last2=REINKING |first2=MARTINA |last3=MÜLLER |first3=JOSEF K |date=January 1998 |title=Parental care improves offspring survival and growth in burying beetles |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=97–107 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1997.0588 |pmid=9480676 |issn=0003-3472}}</ref> It is also thought the parent beetles can produce secretions from head glands that have anti-microbial activity, inhibiting the growth of bacteria and fungi on the vertebrate corpse.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Duarte |first1=Ana |last2=Rebar |first2=Darren |last3=Hallett |first3=Allysa C. |last4=Jarrett |first4=Benjamin J. M. |last5=Kilner |first5=Rebecca M. |date=2021-11-24 |title=Evolutionary change in the construction of the nursery environment when parents are prevented from caring for their young directly |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=118 |issue=48 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2102450118 |doi-access=free |pmid=34819363 |pmc=8640939 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11802450D |issn=0027-8424|hdl=10871/128609 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The adult beetles continue to protect the larvae, which take several days to mature. Many competitors make this task difficult, e.g. [[Calliphoridae|bluebottles]] and [[ant]]s or burying beetles of either another or the same species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Trumbo |first1=Stephen T. |last2=Valletta |first2=Richard C. |date=April 2007 |title=The Costs of Confronting Infanticidal Intruders in a Burying Beetle |journal=Ethology |volume=113 |issue=4 |pages=386–393 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01326.x |bibcode=2007Ethol.113..386T |issn=0179-1613}}</ref> Throughout the entirety of the larva's development, the parents fight off these competitors all the while maintaining an ideal nursery inside the carcass for their offspring.<ref name=":32" /> The final-stage larvae migrate into the soil and pupate, transforming from larvae to fully formed adult beetles.<ref name=":03"/>

Parental care (and particularly biparental care) is quite rare among [[insect]]s that are not [[eusocial]] (e.g. [[ant]]s and [[honey bee]]s). Burying beetles are exceptional in exhibiting this trait, and thus fall under the category of [[Sociality#Subsociality|subsocial]] insects.<ref>Trumbo, S.T. 1994. Interspecific competition, brood parasitism, and the evolution of biparental cooperation in burying beetles. Oikos. 69:241–249.</ref><ref name=":42"/>