burying beetle

noun

1. any of various carrion beetles that bury the carcasses of small animals, especially rodents, in which their eggs have been deposited.

burying beetle

noun

1. a beetle of the genus Necrophorous , which buries the dead bodies of small animals by excavating beneath them, using the corpses as food for themselves and their larvae: family Silphidae Also calledsexton

Word History and Origins

Origin of burying beetle¹

First recorded in 1795–1805