[4] Recognition of these beetles can be distinguished by its black color with orange markings on the wing covers (elytra).

The pronotum is also covered with a thick patch of golden yellow setae which sets it apart from other nicrophorus in its genus.

Thus, forests, woodlands, shrub land, and sandy prairies are common areas where these beetles predominately thrive.

However, in the western hemisphere it is located in the United States excluding the southeast region, and southern Canada that is east of the Rocky Mountains.

When the eggs are laid they are then deposited into the nearby soil at a time at least twelve hours from the discovery of the carcass.

Once the eggs hatch, after about four days, the larvae move towards the carcass to a feeding hole that was made by the parents.

[8] The basic anatomy of the N. tomentosus is broken up into three separate functional body regions: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.

Their harder outer layer is made of cuticle yet the skin is broken up into many different hardened plates that are separated by sutures.

The spiracles, which are external openings that allow the N. tomentosus to breathe, are also found along the sides on the abdomen and are divided up into each segment.

Once the body is found the male and female remove any hair or feathers and roll the carcass into a ball.

The adult beetles stay and protect their eggs until they pupate and if the female dies the male will step in and pick up the extra workload.

When a suitable carcass is found the adult beetles will spread antibiotic secretions over it to remove bacteria and fungi.

What was discovered from these studies was that the existence or lack of oviposition by flies had an effect on the brood size of N. tomentosus present on the carcass.

The fewer number of flies present on a decaying carcass the larger the brood size raised by the N. tomentosus beetles.

The one thing that wasn’t affected by the presence or absence of flies on a carcass was the amount of parental care administered.