Necrophila americana
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The American carrion beetle (Necrophila americana, formerly Silpha americana) is a North American beetle of the family Silphidae. It lays its eggs in, and its larvae consume, raw flesh (particularly that of dead animals) and fungi. The larvae and adults also consume fly larvae and the larvae of other carrion beetles that compete for the same food sources as their larvae. They prefer to live in marshy and woody habitats. Necrophila americana emerge from their larval state in the early summer. A cuckoo bumble bee, Bombus ashtoni, displays close mimicry with the American carrion beetle. They are important in forensic studies because of their tendency to thrive on large carcasses.
Necrophila americana are distinctive in that they have a relatively large, broadly rounded, and flattened body with a yellow pronotum. It is the only North American silphid with a mostly yellow pronotum, and it is the only species of Necrophila found in North America, as all other species are found in Asia. There is sexual dimorphism, with the males having rounded elytral apices and females having their apices more prolonged. They typically range from 12 to 22 millimeters long. The larvae can... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Carrion Beetle sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 276th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–June and August–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Carrion Beetle in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and October–April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Carrion Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate American Carrion Beetle sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Voyageurs National Park (United States, about 30%), Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 20%) and Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same family: Staphylinidae
The closest relatives of the American Carrion Beetle that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Staphylinidae, Rove Beetles) are Roundneck Sexton Beetle (about 10%), Tomentose Burying Beetle (about 10%) and Boreal Burying Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Carrion Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (18 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
