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The American burying beetle is 2 inches long, has bright black-and-orange coloration, and provides an important ecological service: recycling carrion. The beetle finds dead bodies of small animals, buries them, mates on them, and then uses their remains to feed and shelter its larvae.
It’s listed as threatened in the U.S., and is found only in a few places around the country. East of the Mississippi, one of the main populations is on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. Researchers are working to reintroduce the beetle to Nantucket, but it’s been a long and challenging process.
Flora sits down with Hannah Petrarca, one of the researchers involved in the conservation effort to breed and release beetles into the wild. They chat about why this species is so special, and what its conservation prospects look like.
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Segment Guests
Hannah Petrarca
Hannah Petrarca is a conservation specialist at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island.
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