Trying to identify a beetle seen in Ontario, Canada...and it

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  p1I'm trying to identify a beetle I took video of a few years ago. Attached below is a still frame.p2p1I've done some googling and was thinking this was a Milkweed Leaf Beetle because of the orange and black stripes. This beetle however has an interestingly marked green head, and Milkweed Leaf Beetles appear to only have a black head, from what I've found.p2p1I'm especially curious to know if the smaller insects on this beetles back are its young, or some type of parasite.p2p1p2p1I've just posted the original video to youtube. It's right here: Beetle Videop2
  p1Thanks to pascal's answer, I looked at the genus Nicrophorus and agree that this is some member of that genus. (The spelling Necrophorus has been used in the past but is now deprecated.) The 60+ members of this genus are commonly known as burying beetles or sexton beetles from their behavior of burying dead small animals to serve as nourishment for their offspring.p2p1However, instead of N. vespillo, I think the species might be N. tomentosus:p2p1(Photo: Judy Gallagher via Wikimedia Commons)p2p1The most distinguishing feature seems to be the green or gold hairs on the thorax as seen clearly in the large version of OP's photo. These hairs or setae Wikpedia mentions as separating N. tomentosus from other members of the genus. A common name for the species is gold-necked carrion beetle. Two other photos of this species are here and here.p2
  p1This is a beetle of the species Necrophorus vespillo (or a relative), very common beetles. It is parasitized by some mites. A similar picture as yours can be found on this page. I like it very much! We can see on the external page, that those little creatures are mites.p2p1(Picture from wikimedia commons)p2
  p1I think I agree with mgkrebbs that this is N. tomentosus but the members of this genus are all very similar to one another. The part of your question that inquires about the smaller insects on this beetles back is of interest. They are not insects, they are mites.p2p1The behavior of these mites is called phoresis and there is a good illustrated article here about it. The mites are simply using the beetle for transportation to food. The beetle is better than the mites at finding dead animals and is able to fly. This species of mite has evolved the lifestyle of a hitchhiker on the beetle. They have therefore become dependent on the beetle, but they are not a parasite, because the beetle is not harmed. In fact, there may be some benefit to the beetle, which would make this a mutualistic relationship.p2
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