Kingdom Animalia Family Cleridae Scientific name Necrobia ruficollis Rank Species | Class Insecta Genus Necrobia Phylum Arthropoda Order Beetle | |
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Similar Necrobia rufipes, Beetle, Necrobia violacea, Tilloidea, Korynetes caeruleus | ||
Necrobia ruficollis, the ham beetle, red-shouldered ham beetle or red-necked bacon beetle, is a predatory beetle in the family Cleridae with a cosmopolitan distribution.
Contents
Description
Necrobia ruficollis is 4.0–6.5 millimetres (0.16–0.26 in) long, and is mostly a metallic black or dark blue colour. Its thorax and legs and the bases of the elytra are reddish brown.
Ecology
It feeds on dead animals, including dried and smoked meats and animal skins, as well as on cheese. It is frequently found in cadavers in the later stages of decomposition, and is thus useful in forensic entomology.
Latreille
Pierre André Latreille was imprisoned in 1793 under threat of execution, after failing to swear allegiance to the state following the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. When the prison's doctor inspected the prisoners, he was surprised to find Latreille scrutinising a beetle on the dungeon floor. When Latreille explained that it was a rare insect, having identified it as Necrobia ruficollis, the physician was impressed and sent the insect to a 15-year-old local naturalist, Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent. Bory de St.-Vincent knew Latreille's work, and managed to obtain the release of Latreille and one of his cell-mates. All the other inmates were dead within one month.