Silphidae (Burying Beetles and Allies)
Definition
A family of carrion beetles that arrive during active or advanced decay. Some bury small carcasses for larval feeding; others compete with fly larvae directly. Their presence and developmental stage can contribute to successional timing.
Related terms
- Carrion Community
- The full assemblage of arthropods associated with a decomposing body at a given point in time: calyptrate flies, silphid and staphylinid beetles,...
- Dermestidae (Hide Beetles)
- Beetles in the family Dermestidae that colonise remains in the dry or skeletal stage, feeding on desiccated tissue, skin, and hair. Their...
- Faunal Succession
- The predictable, roughly ordered replacement of one insect community by another as a cadaver's chemistry and physical condition change through decomposition. Each...
- Indicator Species
- A species whose known arrival window in the local succession series allows the analyst to set a bound on elapsed time. Its...
- Reference Succession Series
- A documented record of which species colonise carcasses in a given region and season, in what order, and for roughly how long....
Explained in
- The Successional Method of PMI EstimationA family of carrion beetles that arrive during active or advanced decay. Some bury small carcasses for larval feeding; others compete with fly larvae directly....