Red-breasted Carrion Beetle

Oiceoptoma thoracicum · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Staphylinidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Red-breasted Carrion Beetle
Photo: Michael Knapp, CC BY

The red-breasted carrion beetle is Oiceoptoma thoracicum. It lives across the Palearctic region and feeds on a wide range of dead animal matter. Its larvae grow best when given pork rather than beef or chicken.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Scientific name Oiceoptoma thoracicum, commonly called the red-breasted carrion beetle.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Found throughout the Palearctic region.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It is a generalist carrion beetle, feeding on dead animal material.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Larvae are most likely to survive to adulthood when fed pork rather than beef or chicken.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range is the Palearctic.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Red-breasted Carrion Beetle photo 3
Photo: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY
Red-breasted Carrion Beetle photo 4
Photo: S. Rae, 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 atrataLesser Vespillo Burying BeetleLesser Vespillo Burying BeetleNicrophorus vespilloidesRoundneck Sexton BeetleRoundneck Sexton BeetleNicrophorus orbicollisTomentose Burying BeetleTomentose Burying BeetleNicrophorus tomentosus

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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