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BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA STATE MUSEUM
INTRODUCTION
The Silphidae is a relatively small
family of beetles, but interest in them has
always been substantial because of the semisocial
behavior displayed by species in the
genus Nicrophorus. As currently defined,
there are 13 genera and about 208 species
found worldwide. North America has eight
genera and 30 species. As a result of this
study, silphids in the mid-continental state
of Nebraska are now known to number six
genera with 18 species (75% of the North
American genera and 60% of the species).
Those species are found in two subfamilies:
the Silphinae with seven species and the
Nicrophorinae with 11 species.
This study was begun in 1990 in order
to produce an identification manual that
could be used by professional entomologists,
students, interested amateurs, and
an increasingly large number of biologists
and ecologists who are conducting surveys
for the endangered American burying beetle,
Nicrophorus americanus Olivier. The intent
has been to include as much information as
possible about each species as well as illustrations
and keys for identification of both
adults and larvae.
While other synoptic works have partially
reviewed the North American fauna
(e.g., Anderson and Peck 1985), this study
marks the first time that an in-depth review
of the Silphidae of any state has been provided.
Meserve (1936) compiled a checklist
of Nebraska silphids, but otherwise nothing
of a comprehensive nature has been written
for the state.
MeThODS
The results of this study were based
on the examination and records of 29,719
specimens. Most of the specimens are housed
in the Systematics Research Collections
(Division of Entomology) of the University of
Nebraska State Museum. These collections,
now numbering nearly two million specimens,
are recognized as one of the top 20 collections
in North America (Anonymous 1971,
Fischer et al. 1975). They represent over
a century of collecting and data gathering
in the prairie biome. Additional data were
gathered from the collections at Hastings
College, Chadron State College, University
of Nebraska at Kearney, and the University
of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological Station
in western Nebraska.
Fig. 1. Number of silphid species recorded from each Nebraska county. Counties with no records or few records
are clearly in need of additional collecting.