ナショナルジオグラフィックのインスタグラム(natgeo) - 8月25日 13時00分

Photo by @Joel Sartore
This brilliantly colored insect is a critically endangered American burying beetle. This species is an important recycler of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems! By burying and eating carrion (dead animal flesh) they remove a source of food from flies, which are often pests and health threats. They also feed on fly eggs and larvae, helping to reduce their numbers. The precarious state of the population of American burying beetles was recognized in 1989 when the species was listed as Endangered on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species List. Reasons for their decline are unknown, but evidence points to habitat loss and fragmentation. Another theory is that this animal thrived by feeding on the now-extinct passenger pigeon, one of the most abundant birds the world had every seen. When they wet extinct, the beetle declined severely. Thankfully, the @stlzoo where this beetle was photographed is committed to working with conservation organizations to assist with declining populations of native plants and animals. The center has successfully bred thousands of American burying beetles on the Zoo campus and, along with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation and The Nature Conservancy, the Zoo is reintroducing captive-raised beetles to Southwest Missouri. #Photoark #americanburyingbeetle #criticallyendangeredspecies

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