The burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides, can smell dead animals - usually rodents and birds - from a couple of kilometres away.

Once it locates the animal it digs underneath the carcass to bury it as quickly as possible to protect it from scavengers.

The beetles roll the carcass into a ball and dab the outer layers with antimicrobial secretions to slow the rate of decomposition.

The beetle eggs are laid inside a small hole made inside the carcass, and the beetle parents remain on the outside of the ball, waiting for their eggs to hatch.