A Carrion Beetle comes to my front light, and more moths

I have never had this species of Beetle at my front porch light before. I have only ever seen them on carcasses of Wombats and Kangaroos, as road kill. They are called the "Carrion Beetle". Unpleasant habit, but they are interesting for they demonstrate that just about all "ecological niche" can have a specific insect to "do its job".
Here is a link to my post about these Beetles feeding on the legs of a dead Kangaroo, Not pretty, but, it is an important task (in nature).

Carrion Beetle on my screen door.

Carrion Beetle on my screen door.

 The other things which came to my front light tonight were small and medium sized moths.
One looks to me like a Bogong Moth. 

Bogong Moth

This one might also be Bogong Moth

It is clearly a male, with very fine antennae.

Whatever it is, it is very definitely severely worn in the wings. 

Possibly another Bogong Moth
Wings are damaged.
Very good set of antennae - presumably a male

EDIT: My friend Dave Britton from the Australian Museum has come to my rescue. He advised: "This one is a different Agrotis, Agrotis porphyricollis (it has much bigger pectinations in the antenna." Dave.
See Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrotis_porphyricollis

a medium-sized long thin Moth,
with few distinguishing features.

a medium-sized long thin Moth,
with few distinguishing features.

An unusual medium moth with very stiff wings.
it has a fine pattern on its wings.

Carrion Beetle (Ptomaphila lacrymosa)

Nature invented what we humans call "recycling".

If it were not for things like Carrion Beetles, the world would be full of dead animal bodies.

These guys are an integral part of cleaning up the world.

Before I proceed, I must give you an image warning.

If you are inclined to be a bit squeamish, kindly come back tomorrow.

I have to say that Google Image Search is amazing.

Today I found some large beetles feeding on the carcase of a long-dead Kangaroo.

I assumed, at first, that they were cockroaches, so I immediately thought Dave Rentz will be happy.

But on close examination of the first few images I realised they had beetle antennae. Bad luck, Dave!

(He shall have to console himself  with memories of his recent "Ig Nobel Prize in Biology".)

However, back to these Beetles -  what on earth are they?

I started out looking at "Brisbane Insects and Spiders" - without luck.

I then tried Nick Monaghan's "Lifeunseen"

- which has excellent photos, and is always worth a visit when tracking down an ID of an unfamiliar insect or spider. But I drew a blank there, too.

I then Googled "Carnivorous Beetles", and that told me that many beetle larvae eat flesh, 

Charming! But not what I had seen - adult Beetles feeding on a carcase.

Then I saw mention of Carrion Beetles. 

Hello!

Refine the search to Carrion Beetles + Australia

Bingo!

First hit was Dave's Garden (a very wide-ranging website) with a picture of a Beetle which had been found feeding on a dead Wombat! 

How Aussie is that? 

It also gave me a name to search >>> Ptomaphila lacrymosa

Next step: Google Image search for that name.

Bullseye!

The Atlas of Living Australia came through with the necessary images and descriptions to confirm I had the right ID. 

Ptomaphila lacrymosa

• "The Silphidae adults feed in a saprophagous manner, which means they feed on decaying matter. The beetles colonize the carrion during all four stages of decomposition which are fresh, bloated, decay, and dry. The main areas of decomposition for adults are during both the bloated and decaying stages. ... " (ALA)

The ALA had a further link to CSIRO's Entomology Division's "What Bug is That?"

• "In Ptomaphila the elytra are provided with short, longitudinal ridges and tubercles and completely conceal the abdomen...."

•  el·y·tron noun, plural -tra
• one of the pair of hardened forewings of certain insects, as beetles, forming a protective covering for the posterior or flight wings.
• Also called wing case, wing cover.

Here is the clearest (and cleanest) image.

The lumps (tubercules - as we now know to call them) are clearly obvious.

Carrion Beetle (Ptomaphila lacrymosa)

(Ptomaphila lacrymosa) - on the leg of a Kangaroo carcase

Two Beetles actively feeding (head down) (Ptomaphila lacrymosa)

(Ptomaphila lacrymosa) going for a walk along the bare bone

More Carrion Beetles actively feeding (Ptomaphila lacrymosa)

Close-up of a Carrion Beetle (Ptomaphila lacrymosa)

Nature is not always pretty, but it is all necessary, one way or the other.

Fungi break down trees into material plants can use as soil nutrients. 

Insects play their part in that decomposition process, too.