''Necrobia rufipes'', the red-legged ham beetle, is a species of

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, in the family

Cleridae Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences. Cleridae have many niches and fe ...

, with a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

, first described by

Charles De Geer Baron Charles de Geer (the family is usually known as De Geer with a capitalized "De" and is pronounced "de yer"); Finspång in Risinge 30 January 1720 – Stockholm 7 March 1778) was a Swedish industrialist and entomologist. Life De Geer, w ...

in 1775. The adult beetles are long, convex, straight sided, and the surface has indentations called punctures. They are shiny metallic green or greenish blue. The legs and antennae are red (dark clubs). They feed on the

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

-infesting larvae of ''

Calliphora ''Calliphora'' is a genus of blow flies, also known as bottle flies, found in most parts of the world, with the highest diversity in Australia. The most widespread species in North America area ''Calliphora livida'', '' C. vicina'', and '' C. vo ...

'' or blow flies,

Dermestidae Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described. Dermestids have ...

and

Piophilidae The Piophilidae are a Family (biology), family of "true flies", in the Order (biology), order Diptera. The so-called cheese flies are the best-known members, but most species of the Piophilidae are scavengers in animal products, carrion, and fun ...

. The adults are surface feeders; the larvae bore into dry or smoked meats and do most damage. The red-legged ham beetle also attacks

bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

s, hides,

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

, dried egg,

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

bone meal Bone meal is a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products. It is used as a dietary supplement to supply calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) to monogastric livestock in the form of hydroxiapathite. As a slow-r ...

, dried

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

s, and

palm nut Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

kernels. Although

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

has reduced the impact of the beetle on meats, they are a significant destructive pest of dried and salt

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

including herring. It was well documented as a threat to agriculture by 1925. ''Necrobia rufipes'' has been recorded in

Egyptian mummies The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of funerary practices that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burials with specific grave goods ...

and were once known as ''Necrobia mumiarum'' (Rev. F.W. Hope, 1834). Two related species are ''Necrobia violacea'' which has all-dark legs and antennae, and ''

Necrobia ruficollis ''Necrobia ruficollis'', the ham beetle, red-shouldered ham beetle, or red-necked bacon beetle, is a mostly carnivorous beetle in the family Cleridae with a cosmopolitan distribution. Description ''Necrobia ruficollis'' is long, and is mostly ...

'', which has light-coloured bases of the

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

(shoulders). Although similar, neither are as destructive as ''N. rufipes''. This species should not be confused with its cousin, ''

Korynetes caeruleus ''Korynetes caeruleus'' also known as the steely blue beetle is a predatory beetle in the family Cleridae. The species name is occasionally misspelled as "''coeruleus''" (e.g.,), but the spelling ''caeruleus'' is preserved by Opinion 604 of the ...

'', another steely-blue beetle in the family Cleridae. Both species have a significance in

forensic entomology Forensic entomology is the scientific study of the colonization of a dead body by arthropods. This includes the study of insect types commonly associated with cadavers, their respective life cycles, their ecological presences in a given environme ...

but for different reasons.

References

Cleridae Beetles described in 1781 Cosmopolitan arthropods {{Cleroidea-stub