Creophilus maxillosus
Encyclopedia
Creophilus maxillosus belongs to the order Coleoptera
and is most commonly referred to as the hairy rove beetle. The rove beetle
s are a large family, having almost 2,900 species in North America
. This species
can be found in woods and wherever carrion
is found, usually from the spring to autumn months. These active beetles fly swiftly or run rapidly over the ground with the tip of the abdomen
raised like a scorpion
's stinger. Although a few are known to be parasitic, most rove beetles and their larvae prey upon mite
s, other insect
s, and small worm
s.
e of the hairy rove beetle
range from 20 – long and are cylindrical and stout. The adult is a shiny black color and approximately 12 – long. They are easily characterized by their elytra, which cover the first few abdominal segments. They have large eyes, and their mandibles close across each other in the front of the head and can inflict a painful stab if harassed or handled carelessly. Golden setae are located on posterior angles of the head and slightly on the anterior angle of the pronotum. These setae can be found on the last few abdominal segments and on elytra. The hairy rove beetle has needle-like jaws that close across in front of head and large, prominent eyes. The antennae
are thick, beaded, and composed of 11 segments.
The development of eggs
is around 4 days, larva
e 14 days, and pupae 16 days. The eggs are milky white colored, 2 millimetre long and hatch in about 3 days (depending on temperature). The larval stage lasts around 14 days. The pupae, which is around 11 mm wide lasts 16 days. The estimation of the total duration of Creophilus maxillosus lasts 37 days.
to predators. These glands are located beneath the abdominal tergites. When threatened or disturbed, the beetle revolves its abdomen and touches abdominal tip to offender to wipe the glands. Ants (Formica exsectoides) are a common offender and have portrayed that this defense takes place. The ants are shown to be repelled by the four major components of secretion (isoamyl acetate
, iridodial, E-8-oxocitronellyl acetate, and dihydroneptalactone). Dihydroneptalactone is the main principal ingredient of chemical defense
.
e and adult
stages of life. The larvae and adults have long, curved mandibles which are used for chewing. They feed on carcass
es (from the hours after death to the advanced stages of decomposition
), as well as on maggot
s that tend to be on dead animals.
and predator. However, infestation of houses has been reported by this beetle. A reason why C. maxillosus infests houses is not known for certain, but a study of rearing this beetle in the laboratory has shown that adults like to lay eggs in fresh sand and not sand that is old or contaminated. To solve the problem of infestation certain pesticides have been found to affect the adults and larvae of this beetle and can be used to control their numbers. Atroban, a chemical pesticide composed of permethrin
(0.05%), decreases the number of adults and larvae of the family Staphylinidae. Short term reductions of this family were caused by a chemical named demethoate (0.05%). Both of these pesticides were tested on moist spots on poultry dung.
to aid in establishing a time of colonization or post mortem interval
(PMI), both of which usually prove helpful in general crime scene investigation. Hairy rove beetles are considered forensically important, however; their use is somewhat limited due to their transient nature and widespread distribution. Croephilus maxillosus frequency at crime scene investigations conducted in their natural habitat often disqualifies them from being an indicator of body relocation. Creophilus maxillosus forensic relevance, however, is proportionally associated with predation of Diptera
larvae, which is one of the most important secondary predations encountered at crime scenes.
Both larvae and adults of the predatory Creophilus maxillosus feed on the organic
remains of carrion as well as nutrient-packed diptera larvae. Their appearance in the 'common' faunal succession usually follows the first Diptera larvae colonization and continues throughout the later stages of decomposition. The presence of C. maxillosus on carrion is sometimes associated with a marked reduction or in some instances an unexplained absence of fly
larvae. This predation causes an overall misrepresentation of the overall entomofaunical succession, and must be considered in some instances.
explored insect succession on near identical swine carcasses set out in a pine-oak forest, hornbeam-oak forest, and an alder forest in western Poland
. The results show that C. maxillosus adults begin to appear during the ‘late-bloating’, ‘early-active’ phase and were present up to the earlier stages of the ‘remains’ phase. On average, they were first seen after about 6 days of decomposition (range of 5–7 days of decomposition ) and the last C. maxillosus adults were observed on average on day 25 of decomposition (range of 14–38 days of decomposition ). C. maxillosus larvae began to appear after an average of 17 days of decomposition (range of 13–25 days of decomposition) and were present until day 40 of decomposition (range 34–50 days of decomposition).
While in the nascent, but promising, stages of forensic entomology, studies such as this aid entomologists' understanding of faunal succession, and their results prove useful in many cases.
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
and is most commonly referred to as the hairy rove beetle. The rove beetle
Rove beetle
The rove beetles are a large family of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With over 46,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the second largest family of beetles after the Curculionidae...
s are a large family, having almost 2,900 species in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. This species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
can be found in woods and wherever carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
is found, usually from the spring to autumn months. These active beetles fly swiftly or run rapidly over the ground with the tip of the abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
raised like a scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
's stinger. Although a few are known to be parasitic, most rove beetles and their larvae prey upon mite
Mite
Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
s, other insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, and small worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s.
Physical characteristics and life cycle
LarvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of the hairy rove beetle
Rove beetle
The rove beetles are a large family of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With over 46,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the second largest family of beetles after the Curculionidae...
range from 20 – long and are cylindrical and stout. The adult is a shiny black color and approximately 12 – long. They are easily characterized by their elytra, which cover the first few abdominal segments. They have large eyes, and their mandibles close across each other in the front of the head and can inflict a painful stab if harassed or handled carelessly. Golden setae are located on posterior angles of the head and slightly on the anterior angle of the pronotum. These setae can be found on the last few abdominal segments and on elytra. The hairy rove beetle has needle-like jaws that close across in front of head and large, prominent eyes. The antennae
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
are thick, beaded, and composed of 11 segments.
The development of eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
is around 4 days, larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e 14 days, and pupae 16 days. The eggs are milky white colored, 2 millimetre long and hatch in about 3 days (depending on temperature). The larval stage lasts around 14 days. The pupae, which is around 11 mm wide lasts 16 days. The estimation of the total duration of Creophilus maxillosus lasts 37 days.
Habitat and geography
Generally, C. maxillosus are found throughout the eastern U.S. in the fall and spring, but can also be found in the summer. They are usually in wooded habitats such as forest leaf litter, decaying plant material (including fruit), and under dead tree bark. They can also be found in carrion, dung, under stones or rocks, and in fresh water areas in washed-up brown algae.Defense
C. maxillosus has abdominal defensive glands used to secrete a mixture of substances that act as an irritantIrritation
Irritation or exacerbation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage. A stimulus or agent which induces the state of irritation is an irritant...
to predators. These glands are located beneath the abdominal tergites. When threatened or disturbed, the beetle revolves its abdomen and touches abdominal tip to offender to wipe the glands. Ants (Formica exsectoides) are a common offender and have portrayed that this defense takes place. The ants are shown to be repelled by the four major components of secretion (isoamyl acetate
Isoamyl acetate
Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an organic compound that is the ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid. It is a colorless liquid that is only slightly soluble in water, but very soluble in most organic solvents...
, iridodial, E-8-oxocitronellyl acetate, and dihydroneptalactone). Dihydroneptalactone is the main principal ingredient of chemical defense
Chemical defense
Chemical defense is the use of compounds by plants and animals to deter herbivory and predation.-In plants:Chemical defense against herbivory is common. The production of capsaicin in many strains of bell peppers is one such defense familiar to humans....
.
Diet
This particular species is predacious in both the larvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e and adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
stages of life. The larvae and adults have long, curved mandibles which are used for chewing. They feed on carcass
Carcass
Carcass may refer to:*Cadaver of a human, or carrion of an animal.*Carcass , a death metal/grindcore band*Carcass , a type of incendiary ammunition designed to be fired from a cannon, three ships of the Royal Navy...
es (from the hours after death to the advanced stages of decomposition
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
), as well as on maggot
Maggot
In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly ; it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies...
s that tend to be on dead animals.
Control
The hairy rove beetle is considered beneficial in the environment because it is a successful scavengerScavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
and predator. However, infestation of houses has been reported by this beetle. A reason why C. maxillosus infests houses is not known for certain, but a study of rearing this beetle in the laboratory has shown that adults like to lay eggs in fresh sand and not sand that is old or contaminated. To solve the problem of infestation certain pesticides have been found to affect the adults and larvae of this beetle and can be used to control their numbers. Atroban, a chemical pesticide composed of permethrin
Permethrin
Permethrin is a common synthetic chemical, widely used as an insecticide, acaricide, and insect repellent. It belongs to the family of synthetic chemicals called pyrethroids and functions as a neurotoxin, affecting neuron membranes by prolonging sodium channel activation. It is not known to...
(0.05%), decreases the number of adults and larvae of the family Staphylinidae. Short term reductions of this family were caused by a chemical named demethoate (0.05%). Both of these pesticides were tested on moist spots on poultry dung.
Forensics
Creophilus maxillosus is one of the many forensically important insect species commonly encountered during crime scene investigations. This species can be used in investigative forensic entomologyForensic entomology
Forensic entomology is the application and study of insect and other arthropod biology to criminal matters. It is primarily associated with death investigations; however, it may also be used to detect drugs and poisons, determine the location of an incident, and find the presence and time of the...
to aid in establishing a time of colonization or post mortem interval
Post mortem interval
Post-mortem interval is the time that has elapsed since a person has died. If the time in question is not known, a number of medical/scientific techniques are used to determine it. This also can refer to the stage of decompostion the person is in....
(PMI), both of which usually prove helpful in general crime scene investigation. Hairy rove beetles are considered forensically important, however; their use is somewhat limited due to their transient nature and widespread distribution. Croephilus maxillosus frequency at crime scene investigations conducted in their natural habitat often disqualifies them from being an indicator of body relocation. Creophilus maxillosus forensic relevance, however, is proportionally associated with predation of Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
larvae, which is one of the most important secondary predations encountered at crime scenes.
Both larvae and adults of the predatory Creophilus maxillosus feed on the organic
Organic matter
Organic matter is matter that has come from a once-living organism; is capable of decay, or the product of decay; or is composed of organic compounds...
remains of carrion as well as nutrient-packed diptera larvae. Their appearance in the 'common' faunal succession usually follows the first Diptera larvae colonization and continues throughout the later stages of decomposition. The presence of C. maxillosus on carrion is sometimes associated with a marked reduction or in some instances an unexplained absence of fly
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
larvae. This predation causes an overall misrepresentation of the overall entomofaunical succession, and must be considered in some instances.
Case studies
A study carried out in Central EuropeCentral Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
explored insect succession on near identical swine carcasses set out in a pine-oak forest, hornbeam-oak forest, and an alder forest in western Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The results show that C. maxillosus adults begin to appear during the ‘late-bloating’, ‘early-active’ phase and were present up to the earlier stages of the ‘remains’ phase. On average, they were first seen after about 6 days of decomposition (range of 5–7 days of decomposition ) and the last C. maxillosus adults were observed on average on day 25 of decomposition (range of 14–38 days of decomposition ). C. maxillosus larvae began to appear after an average of 17 days of decomposition (range of 13–25 days of decomposition) and were present until day 40 of decomposition (range 34–50 days of decomposition).
While in the nascent, but promising, stages of forensic entomology, studies such as this aid entomologists' understanding of faunal succession, and their results prove useful in many cases.