[6] A cuckoo bumble bee, Bombus ashtoni, displays close mimicry with the American carrion beetle.

[8] Necrophila americana are distinctive in that they have a relatively large, broadly rounded, and flattened body with a yellow pronotum.

The larvae can be characterized by their black color, two-segmented urogomphi, and the presence of numerous plates on the sensory area of the second antennal segment.

[4] Other studies have shown that the American carrion beetle also reside in Typha marsh habitats, with lots of water accumulation and heavy rainfall.

It is possible that isopropanol is perceived as a chemical produced by decomposing bodies during the bloating stage, which would explain why N. americana is attracted to them.

[2][3] The beetle is a ground-dwelling silphid that emerges from its larval state to feed on carcasses in early summer, as its greatest abundance is from June through October.

[6] The American carrion beetle displays close mimicry with Psithyrus ashtoni, a cuckoo bumble bee.

In addition, guarding behavior has been observed much more when the sex ratio is male-biased due to increased competition between males.

[12] American carrion beetles are rarely found breeding on dung, but an unusual case of this has been documented.

This case is also unusual because these beetles are typically only found on medium or larger carcasses as habitats, while otter dung is small (less than 10 cm3).

While breeding, the beetles were observed to be standing over the undigested fish parts (bones and scales) in the dung.

[2] N. americana is significant in forensic analyses due to its unique characteristic of feeding on rotting flesh.

Thus, it is not found in carcasses in suitcases, which is a superior habitat due to the leakage of organic substances that beetles feed on.

Drums are an inferior habitat due to the corpse being sealed off from any outside beetles, which means the organic substances are not available to them.

Predicting these accumulation patterns is especially important for forensic science since these measures can help determine the minimum postmortem interval (PMI) of a sealed corpse from homicides.

N. americana also preferentially consume corpses of larger animals such as pigs (from this study), deer, or potentially humans.