I've never seen anything like this in my yard in the 6 years I've been here. Can anyone identify it and also is it friend or foe?
He is about 5/8" long with orange on the tips of his antennae...
I'm in North Pole, Alaska.
Thanks for any help...He's probably just a common ole something but I'm curious since I've never seen anything like it.
Barbara
Pretty sure that's a Carrion Beetle in the genus Nicrophorus. They eat dead and decaying animals - since they probably can't spread diseases the way the flies do, I'd definitely say they're on our side, cleaning things up. Handsome beetle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burying_beetle
http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/insects/album/024021009ap.html
Claypa...Thanks for the quick identification!
I only had it corraled for about an hour and have released it back to where I found it. Hopefully he/she will find its mate and they can continue doing what it is they do.
