Large rove beetle

Belonuchus rufipennis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Staphylinidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Large rove beetle
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY

Belonuchus rufipennis grows to about 4.6 mm to 9 mm in length. It is found across North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults measure between roughly 4.6 mm and 9 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species occurs in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Kansas, Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Large rove beetle photo 2
Photo: Paul Bedell, CC BY-SA
Large rove beetle photo 3
Photo: Zachary Dankowicz, CC BY
Large rove beetle photo 4
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Large rove beetle photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Same family (Staphylinidae)

American Carrion BeetleAmerican Carrion BeetleNecrophila americanaDevil's Coach Horse BeetleDevil's Coach Horse BeetleOcypus olensCan biteBlack snail beetleBlack snail beetlePhosphuga atrataRed-breasted Carrion BeetleRed-breasted Carrion BeetleOiceoptoma thoracicumLesser Vespillo Burying BeetleLesser Vespillo Burying BeetleNicrophorus vespilloidesRoundneck Sexton BeetleRoundneck Sexton BeetleNicrophorus orbicollis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belonuchus_rufipennis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.