American burying beetles are making a comeback in Nebraska

One of the world’s best insect undertakers is making a comeback.

Populations of the American burying beetle, North America’s largest carrion beetle, have been decimated due mainly to habitat loss and dwindling wildlife species. Once abundant in 35 states and three Canadian provinces, the American burying beetle is now found only in small pockets in 10 states.

But new data show that the beetle’s abundance increased over the last decade in southwestern Nebraska’s Loess Canyons. It’s the first regional increase since the insect was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1989, researchers report in the January

more than a third of this vast landscape since 2002, reducing tree cover in some places back to historic levels of less than 10 percent. 

Reintroducing fire and controlling eastern red cedar in the Loess Canyons has created more diverse prairie habitat, which supports more wildlife species. This, in turn, gives beetles more food options.

“It’s been very rewarding working with these landowners,” Walker says. “Ultimately, they’re the ones that are leading the success on all of this.”