Silphidae
Silphidae Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Nicrophorus vespillo | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Suborder: | Polyphaga |
Infraorder: | Staphyliniformia |
Superfamily: | Staphylinoidea |
Family: | Silphidae Latreille, 1806[1] |
Subfamilies | |
Nicrophorinae Kirby , 1837Silphinae Latreille, 1806 |
Silphidae is a family of
Taxonomy, evolution, and etymology
The family Silphidae belongs to the order Coleoptera. They are commonly referred to as carrion beetles or burying beetles and are usually associated with carrion, fungi, and dung. In the past, members of the family Agyrtidae were included. This family has two subfamilies, Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. The antenna is made up of 15 segments and is capitate (ending in an abruptly capped club) in the Nicrophorinae and has a more gradual club shape in the Silphinae. The subfamilies also differ in behavior. Members of the subfamily Silphinae show little to no care for their young and breed on large carrion. Nicrophorinae breed on small animal carrion and will bury themselves and their food to rear their offspring in a bi-parental manner.[2] There are approximately 183 species in this family, which are found worldwide although they are commoner in temperate regions. Nicrophorus americanus, known as the American burying beetle, is an endangered species.[3]
The oldest fossils of silphids are known from the Middle Jurassic (~ 163 million years ago)
The word "silphid" or "sylph", first seen in the sixteenth century in Paracelsus' works, refers to any race of spirits inhabiting the air and is described as mortal, but lacking soul. The word is also related to the Latin word silva meaning "forests" or "of the woods".[7]
Diversity and distribution
Silphidae are ubiquitous and are most abundant in the temperate zone. The diversity is also greater in the temperate zone and they are quite rare in the tropics although there are species endemic to the region. It is thought that ants, flies and other carrion feeders outcompete them in these regions.[8] They vary in size from 7 to 45 mm.[9]
There are about 46 different species of Silphidae in North America which include Heterosilpha ramosa, Necrodes surinamensis,
One species of Nicrophorus beetle within the family Silphidae, Nicrophorus nepalensis, can be found primarily in the mountains of eastern Asia as well as along the Malay Archipelago. Nicrophorus nepalensis are found in the Indian subcontinent as well in the countries of India and Pakistan.
Development
Silphidae undergo
Reproduction
Nicrophorinae are well known for the habit of locating a carcass and burying it by unearthing the soil underneath it. The burying behavior has seemingly evolved to prevent competition from other insects such as fly maggots. It has been observed that the cooperation of the two parent beetles leads to breeding success. More likely than not a breeding pair will work together, but in cases where there is large carrion males try to boost their reproduction by emitting pheromones. In this way, he will father more offspring, but the reproductive success of the primary female steadily declines. Sometimes, where there is a large carcass the likelihood of intense competition from flies leads to communal breeding. There appears to be a truce between females who would normally compete for the males, and in these cases cooperative behavior extends to females caring for each other's offspring. At the height of breeding season pairs of beetles may compete for the carrion. The losing pair will be ejected from the carrion and if any eggs have been laid they are killed so the new female can lay her own.[12]
Behavior and ecology
Food
Silphid adults feed in a saprophagous manner: they colonize the carrion during all four stages of decomposition, which are fresh, bloated, decay, and dry. The main areas of decomposition for adults are during both the bloated and decaying stages. Silphid larvae mainly inhabit during the decaying and dry stages of the carrion. The primary food source for the subfamily Silphinae is the maggot mass present on the detritus. Nicrophorinae will colonize the body earlier in decomposition in order to avoid competition with maggots. If there is a sufficiently large maggot mass they will not colonize the carcass. The parental care exhibited by this subfamily is that the adult beetles regurgitate food into the mouths of the young larvae until they are mature. Silphinae colonize later in the decaying process and the adults eat the maggot mass, sometimes leaving little maggot evidence left to estimate a post-mortem interval. In the case of the sexton or burying beetles, Nicrophorinae, the adults will bury small animal carcasses and lay their eggs on it. In some species, a slight depression is made on the detritus for maturing larvae that the adult beetles feed and protect. In both subfamilies the larvae are observed to eat the decaying organic material while the adults mainly consume the maggots. Flies are the major competitor of silphids for detritus. If a carcass is infested with maggots, many of the Nicrophorinae will abandon the carcass while members of Silphinae will feed on the maggots.[10]
Defense
Beetles have many different weapons available to protect them against
Walking is the primary form of locomotion for Silphidae beetles. They are able to travel great distances to find
Competition
Silphidae compete for brooding areas. If an invader male overpowers the original male, it will mate with the original female and create a new brood.[17] If an invader female overpowers the original female, it will also create a new brood with the primary male.
Relationships
With humans
Silphids are usually not considered a nuisance to humans. They help the environment by laying their eggs on carcasses and the larvae break down the detritus, which prevents accumulation of deceased organisms.
Carcasses are kept out of sight and foul odors are prevented when Nicrophorinae bury it under the ground. This will also reduce the surface area for flies to lay their eggs and decrease fly population.
Some Silphidae occupy human-inhabited areas and become pests to farmers by using crops as a second source of nutrients. Aclypea opaca in Europe feed on beets. Necrophila americana feed on pumpkin, spinach, and sugar beet.
With other organisms
Members from the family Silphidae are known to have mutualistic relationships with other organisms. Nicrophorinae have a mutual relationship with phoretic mites. Mites from the genus Poecilochirus produce deutonymphs that crawl on Nicrophorinae and are transported to carrion. Once they arrive at the carrion, deutonymphs leave the adult Nicrophorinae and proceed to feed on nearby fly eggs and immature larvae. Mites help Nicrophorinae reduce the number of competitors on carrion. With less competition, both species are able to reproduce successfully underground.[18]
Silphidae are known for being hosts to juvenile nematodes. Nicrophorus vespilloides are closely associated with the nematode parasite. The parasites can be easily transmitted to other hosts during copulation.
Forensic research
Silphidae are one of several families of
Silphidae are being studied to find more exact estimations of
This presents a problem in the determination of post-mortem interval because Silphidae are known to eradicate other species from carrion. By eliminating the first colonizing species Silphidae can give an incorrect post-mortem interval.Unlike most of the insects used as forensic markers, it is possible to assess if Silphidae adults have colonized a corpse and left it later. For this purpose, some Parasitidae mites (for example, Poecilochirus species) are used due to their phoront-host specificity. If a corpse is invaded by Poecilochirus specimens and no Silphidae were sampled by forensic entomologists, it is reasonable to suspect that some Silphidae carrying Poecilochirus phoretic instars arrived previously to the corpse and abandoned it some time later, leaving Poecilochirus mites in the process.[21]
References
- PMID 21594053.
- ^ Eggert, A.; Muller, J. K. (1997). Bi-parental care and social evolution in burying beetles: Lessons from the larder in Social Behavior in Insects and Arachnids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–541.
- S2CID 85841685.
- PMID 25225362.
- .
- PMID 18507741.
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/sylvan
- ^ Ratcliffe B.C. (1996). The carrion beetles (Coleoptera:Silphidae) of Nebraska. Bulletin 13. Lincoln, USA: University of Nebraska State Museum.
- ^ Dekeirsschieter, Jessica; François Verheggen; Georges Lognay; Eric Haubruge (2011). "Large carrion beetles (Coleoptera, Silphidae) in Western Europe: a review" (PDF). Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society and Environment. 15 (3): 435–447.
- ^ a b c d Byrd, Jason H.; Castner, James L. (2001). Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations. Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC. pp. 10, 37, 189–199.
- ^ Anderson, RS & SB Peck (1985). The insects and arachnids of Canada. Part 13. The Carrion Beetles of Canada and Alaska. Coleoptera: Silphidae and Agyrtidae (PDF). Agriculture Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-15.
- ^ McGavin, George C. Essential Entomology: An Order-by-Order Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 62–66.
- ^ a b Ratcliffe, B. The Carrion Beetles (Coleoptera:Silphidae) of Nebraska. Bulletin of the Nebraska State Museum. Volume 13.
- .
- ^ Evans, A. Hogue, J. Introduction to California Beetles. University of California Press 2004. p. 154–156.
- S2CID 41821139.
- S2CID 26073189.
- .
- S2CID 206976798.
- ^ S2CID 86084430.
- S2CID 16228053.
External links