American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus): COSEWIC rapid review of classification

Official title: COSEWIC Rapid Review of Classification on the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) in Canada

Extirpated

2022

COSEWIC assessment summary

Assessment summary – December 2022

Common name: American Burying Beetle

Scientific name: Nicrophorus americanus

Status: Extirpated

Reason for designation: There is sufficient information to document that no individuals of the wildlife species remain alive in Canada. This includes a lack of sightings for 49 years despite (1) being a large, distinctive, and conspicuous insect; (2) a tenfold increase in the number of field entomologists/community scientists as well as studies of carrion-feeding beetles; (3) the fact that it comes to lights yet it has not been captured during an estimated 300,000 trap nights; and (4) directed search in the general area where last seen.

Occurrence: Ontario, Quebec

Status history: Designated Extirpated in November 2011. Status re-examined and confirmed in December 2022.

COSEWIC rapid review of classification

Preface

The American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) is a carrion beetle (family Silphidae), and reproduction depends upon the availability of small vertebrate carcasses (for example, bird chicks, rodents). The taxonomy has not changed since the initial COSEWIC (2011) status report. The species is distinct and there are no proposed subspecies or forms. The American Burying Beetle occurs only in North America from the prairie states east to the Atlantic Coast, and from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan south to Texas. In Canada there are historical records from Ontario and Quebec. The most recent collection in Canada took place in 1972. A report on the presence of this species in Nova Scotia (Madge 1956) is considered to have originated in an error, despite it still being referenced in some reports. The record for Manitoba (NatureServe 2021) is unsubstantiated (see Appendix 1 in COSEWIC 2011). No new observations of the American Burying Beetle have been made in Canada since 1972. The historical observations are summarized in the 2011 COSEWIC assessment.

The American Burying Beetle was listed as “Extirpated” on Schedule 1 under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2017 and as “Extirpated” under the Ontario Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2013 (King’s Printer for Ontario, 2014). In Quebec, this species is not listed as “Threatened” or “Vulnerable” under the Loi sur les espèces menacées ou vulnérables (LEMV) (RLRQ, c E-12.01) [Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species] (CQLR, c E-12.01). In addition, this species is not integrated on the Liste des espèces susceptibles d’être désignées menacées ou vulnérables [list of wildlife species likely to be designated threatened or vulnerable] (Province of Quebec2021). There are no national or provincial recovery strategies for the species.

Globally, the American Burying Beetle is listed in the IUCN Red List as “Critically Endangered.” The species is listed as “Endangered” under the United States Endangered Species Act. The species is globally listed as G2 (imperilled), nationally listed as N2N3 for the United States and listed as NH (historical) for Canada. In the United States it has been reported from 35 states and remains in the wild in only eight – listed as “Endangered” in all.

It is believed that the species has been extirpated in Canada and from all states conterminous with Canada. It appears very unlikely that the American Burying Beetle has been present but undocumented anywhere within its Canadian range since the most recent collection (in 1972). The American Burying Beetle is a large, distinctive beetle that is easily identified. Natural recolonizing by the species of its former range in Canada appears extremely unlikely. The species might be reintroduced from United States populations.

Status history

Designated Extirpated in November 2011. Status re-examined and confirmed in December 2022.

Updated map

No change in distribution known; see previous assessment (COSEWIC 2011). There was one additional specimen of the American Burying Beetle found within a drawer of unidentified beetles at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. There was no locality information accompanying the specimen (Sheffield pers. comm. 2021).

Technical summary

Nicrophorus americanus

American Burying Beetle

Nécrophore d’Amérique

Range of occurrence in Canada: Ontario, Quebec

Threats identified in the COSEWIC (2011) status report that may have led to extirpation include:

• use of artificial lighting, which may confuse the species’ behaviour
• roadkill of wandering adults
• mortality due to the use of insecticides
• direct predation by domestic and/or feral dogs and cats, which likely disturb carcasses
• Reduction of brood cadaver resources
• habitat alteration and fragmentation are generally considered to be the primary cause for decline. Fragmentation increases the need for species’ movement across unsuitable habitats and over roads. The development of dense understorey in cleared forest areas increases the difficulty of burying cadavers and increases the opportunity for predation

What additional limiting factors are relevant? Distribution and abundance of brood cadavers, competition for cadaver resources with other Nicrophorus species; minimum spatial area of forest required to sustain beetle subpopulations (for example, habitat fragmentation decreases the minimum size); soil type required for successful burying of cadaver and progeny development.

Occurrence data sensitivity

Are occurrence data of this species sensitive? No

Status and reasons for designation

Status: Extirpated

Alpha-numeric codes: Not applicable

Reasons for designation: There is sufficient information to document that no individuals of the wildlife species remain alive in Canada. This includes a lack of sightings for 49 years despite (1) being a large, distinctive, and conspicuous insect; (2) a tenfold increase in the number of field entomologists/community scientists as well as studies of carrion-feeding beetles; (3) the fact that it comes to lights yet it has not been captured during an estimated 300,000 trap nights; and (4) directed search in the general area where last seen.

Reason for change of status: Not applicable

Applicability of criteria

A: Decline in total number of mature individuals
Not applicable.

B: Small distribution range and decline or fluctuation
Not applicable.

C: Small and declining number of mature individuals
Not applicable.

D: Very small or restricted population
Not applicable.

E: Quantitative analysis
Not applicable.

Acknowledgements

Funding for the preparation of this report was provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The authorities listed below provided valuable data and/or advice.

Authorities contacted

Anderson, Bob. Research Scientist, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario.

Boucher, Stéphanie, Curator, Lyman Entomological Museum, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec.

Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNCI). Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, ON (online database).

Desrosiers, Nathalie. Biologiste, Direction de la biodiversité et des maladies de la faune, Direction générale de l’expertise sur la faune et ses habitats, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, Quebec.

Friesen, Chris, Coordinator, Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Gauthier, Isabelle. Biologiste, Coordonnatrice provinciale des espèces, fauniques menacées ou vulnérables, Direction générale de la gestion de la faune et des habitats, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, Quebec.

Hubley, Brad. Entomology Collection Manager, Department of Natural History Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Toronto, Ontario.

Jones, Colin. Provincial Zoologist – Invertebrates, Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough Ontario.

Mlynarek, Julia. Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada, Harrow Research and Development Centre, Harrow, Ontario.

Paiero, Steven. Curator, University of Guelph Insect Collection, School of Environmental Sciences (Bovey Building), University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario.

Sheffield, Cory. Invertebrate Curator, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Regina, Saskatchewan.

Information sources

COSEWIC. 2011. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the American Burying Beetle Nicrophorus americanus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. ix + 35 pp.

COSSARO (Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario). 2011. COSSARO Candidate Species at Risk Evaluation for American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). Website: http://cossaroagency.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/COSSARO-AmericanBuryingBeetle2011Nov.pdf [accessed March 9, 2021].

iNaturalist. 2021. American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). Website: https://inaturalist.ca/taxa/107026-Nicrophorus-americanus [accessed March 9, 2021].

King’s Printer for Ontario, 2014. American Burying Beetle. Website: https://www.ontario.ca/page/american-burying-beetle [accessed Dec 2, 2022].

NatureServe. 2021. NatureServe explorer: an online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. Website: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer [accessed February 12, 2021].

Province of Quebec. 2021. Liste des espèces susceptibles d’être désignées menacées ou vulnérables (list of wildlife species likely to be designated threatened or vulnerable). Website: https://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/la-faune/especes/especes-menacees-vulnerables/ [accessed March 9, 2021].

Sheffield, C., pers. comm. 2021. Email correspondence with Jennifer Heron. Invertebrate Curator, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Regina, Saskatchewan.

Writer of rapid review of classification:

• Jennifer M. Heron

COSEWIC history

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process.

COSEWIC mandate

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens.

COSEWIC membership

COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal entities (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government science members and the co-chairs of the species specialist subcommittees and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittee. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species.

Definitions (2022)

Wildlife Species

A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years.

Extinct (X)

A wildlife species that no longer exists.

Extirpated (XT)

A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.

Endangered (E)

A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

Threatened (T)

A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.

Special Concern (SC)*

A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Not at Risk (NAR)**

A wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances.

Data Deficient (DD)***

A category that applies when the available information is insufficient (a) to resolve a species’ eligibility for assessment or (b) to permit an assessment of the species’ risk of extinction.

* Formerly described as “Vulnerable” from 1990 to 1999, or “Rare” prior to 1990.

** Formerly described as “Not In Any Category”, or “No Designation Required.”

*** Formerly described as “Indeterminate” from 1994 to 1999 or “ISIBD” (insufficient scientific information on which to base a designation) prior to 1994. Definition of the (DD) category revised in 2006.

The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat.