Rare Burying Beetle Spotted at our Molesey Site

Whilst monitoring bats on our site in Molesey, Surrey. Ross Baker from the Surrey Bat Group, noticed this colourful creature.

It is a very rare Sexton Beetle. Sexton Beetles require dead Carrion for their larvae to feed on – they actually burrow beneath the carcasses of birds and small mammals to bury them, lay their eggs underneath, forming a “crypt” – hence the alternative name burying beetle.

Unusually in the insect world both parents remain with the brood to assist in feeding. It is a slightly ghoulish insect to mention to the kids during Halloween!!