Carrion beetles are a family of beetles that feed on the bodies of dead and decaying animals. Carrion beetles are important because they get rid of dead matter by eating it and breaking it down into smaller pieces that can be placed back into the ecosystem. A red tail hawk had dropped this squirrel from a tree after failing to secure it. Let the feast begin. This wasn’t a very pleasant video for the girls. But after discussing the benefits of the carrion beetle, it became a bit more tolerable, almost.