Margined Burying Beetle

Nicrophorus marginatus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Staphylinidae

Also called: Common Burying Beetle, Margined Sexton Beetle

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Margined Burying Beetle
Photo: unknown, CC0

Adults measure between about 12 and 28 mm long. It was described by Fabricius in 1801 and is known as the margined burying beetle.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults are 12 to 28 mm (0.47 to 1.10 in) in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1801.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 44 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, California, Texas, South Dakota, New Mexico, Kansas, Arizona, Nebraska.

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

Margined Burying Beetle photo 3
Photo: mayfly1963, CC BY
Margined Burying Beetle photo 4
Photo: threepenpals, CC BY
Margined Burying Beetle photo 5
Photo: Luke, CC BY
Margined Burying Beetle photo 6
Photo: Gavin Slater, CC BY

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/Nicrophorus_marginatus

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

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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.