Bug FAQRidged Carrion Beetle
Oiceoptoma inaequale · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Staphylinidae
The ridged carrion beetle is known as Oiceoptoma inaequale. It occurs in North America. It has been observed breeding on the carcass of a western rat snake.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The species is called the ridged carrion beetle, Oiceoptoma inaequale.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It breeds on and uses western rat snake carcasses as a food source.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Breeding has been witnessed on a western rat snake carcass.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 37 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Kansas, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania.
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
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Staphylinidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oiceoptoma_inaequale
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.