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Even venomous snakes are on the menu This type of opossum also imbibes in carrion (already-dead animals) and even garbage. Although some types of carrion beetles can be crop pests, most of them perform a vastly important service - transforming rotting corpses into the much less offensive form of their own bodies. The Virginia opossum’s long muzzle allows its keen sense of smell to detect all sorts of omnivorous delicacies including a wide range of plants, fruits, insects, and other small animals. One of these, the American burying beetle ( Nicrophorus americanus), is a federally endangered species. There are about 30 species in the carrion beetle family in North America north of Mexico, some more common than others. They emerge at night to prey on carrion-feeding insects, like maggots or dermestid beetle larvae.

Clown beetles prefer to shelter in the soil under the carcass during the day. They rarely measure more than 10 mm in length.

The colors and shape vary according to species. Clown beetles, also known as hister beetles, inhabit carrion, dung, and other decaying materials. Like those of other beetles, the larvae are grubs. These beetles often secrete or spray foul-smelling substances, or just plain smell bad themselves. The antennae are distinctively clubbed, often with minute hairs or colors at the very tip. In many species, the elytra are too short to cover the final 1 to 3 segments of the abdomen tip. The shell-like forewings (elytra) have a distinctive shape, wider toward the end of the body and narrower toward the front.

Those in the carrion beetle family are flattened, usually black, often with markings of red, orange, or yellow. American Carrion Beetle (Necrophila Americana) American carrion beetle of the carrion beetle family inhabits different parts of North America, having a wide range there right from the Rocky Mountains to Texas, Florida, Minnesota, and Canada’s southeastern belt.