These beetles don’t have guitars, hit songs or floppy hair to help introduce them to different parts of the country.

Dave Horn, professor of entomology, with research assistants George Keeney and Foster Forbes, have spent two years trying to reintroduce the American Burying Beetle in Southern Ohio. Successful reintroduction has returned the beetle to the Massachusetts islands of Nantucket and Penikese.

According to Keeney, it is important to re-establish the beetle in Ohio, which was last seen in 1974, near Old Man’s Cave in Hocking County. The American Burying beetle was listed as a state and federally endangered species in 1989.

“It’s part of our historical fauna, and we contributed to its demise. I think we have a responsibility, a stewardship to every species we can help,” Keeney said.

Keeney also said that since the beetle is the largest of its genus, it might be a good indicator of species. This means if there is a decline in one species, it might be able to give insight as to what is going wrong with other species.

“Often times, it is the biggest members of a genus or family that suffer the most because they have more specialized requirements than smaller members that can utilize smaller resources,” he said.

Witnessing the re-establishment of insects is important because of the impact of colonizing insects in the environment, said Horn who works in biological control. The release and establishment of an insect such as the American Burying beetle will provide clues on how to establish biological control agents.

Keeney said early efforts indicate success. Horn agreed and said up to 50 percent of the adult beetles may have begun to reproduce in their new environment.

Follow-up on the beetles is frustrating but not discouraging, Horn said. On the last expedition, they were unable to find any of the beetles. The beetles, however, are capable of moving one and a half miles per night and are difficult to locate. Just a few hundred beetles are located in over 30,000 acres of forest.

They may need another method to locate the beetles, Horn said.

“We have talked with federal and state wildlife people about establishing a captive culture, and we may do that in 2002 along with additional trapping,” Horn said.

Forbes said increased predation to scavenging animals is a reason the American Burying beetle disappeared.

“Animals like raccoons and skunks prey on dead carcasses just like the burying beetle,” he said.

Increased outdoor lighting from homes and development may have driven the beetles toward the light and away from their safer setting of grasslands and forests.

Horn said the extinction of the passenger pigeon in the 19th century may have contributed to the demise of the beetle. The passenger pigeon was the most common bird in the world, but increased hunting of the pigeon led to its extinction.

“The passenger pigeon was a perfect size corpse for the burying beetle to bury, and the disappearance of the passanger pigeon may have led to the decline of the American Burying beetle,” Horn said.

Ohio is being reforested, helping to increase the growth of turkey and deer. Maintaining natural and forested areas is important. Urbanization leads to an increase in scavengers detrimental to the beetle.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources helped fund the project. According to the Fish and Wildlife Commission in Massachusetts, about two more years are needed before project results can be considered a permanent success.