Nature’s undertakers use tiny hitchhikers to protect their nursery
Burying beetles perform a gruesome feat of parental care, dragging small carcasses underground to feed their young. But they don't work alone. A specialized group of microscopic mites hitches a ride to help the beetles defend their precious food source from rivals.
Burying beetles, also known as carrion beetles, act as essential decomposers by breaking down dead animals and returning nutrients to the soil. Their reproductive strategy involves locating small rodents or birds that have already died, then hauling the carcass into the earth. Once underground, the beetle—either alone or with a mate—rolls the carcass into a ball. This technique minimizes the flesh exposed to decay and bacteria.
To further preserve the resource, the beetles engage in a unique microbial coating process, dragging their bodies over the carcass to spread microbes that slow rot. This prepared site serves as a nursery; after the female lays eggs next to the carcass, the larvae hatch and are initially fed prechewed meat by the mother before eventually feeding on the carcass themselves.
The success of this underground nursery often depends on phoretic mites. These tiny travelers use the beetles for transport, piggybacking on them to reach new carcasses. While the mites feed on small bits of the carcass, they provide a vital service to the beetles: they devour fly eggs that were deposited while the carcass was still aboveground. By eliminating these eggs, the mites prevent the emergence of maggots that would otherwise compete with the beetle larvae for the limited food supply.
While many species like the yellow-bellied burying beetle (Nicrophorus guttula) remain abundant, others face extinction. The American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) is currently threatened, a decline possibly linked to the loss of its preferred food source: the passenger pigeon, which humans hunted to extinction by 1914.
Source: This Mite-y Beetle Buries the Dead to Start a Family | Deep Look
