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what is it?
Hi,
Sorry, I am new at photographing bugs – this is the best I could do. I collected these bugs from our house and then dumped them on a tile – so some are on their back and two are stuck together on the 19 – Can you identify them? Unfortunately they are all over the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is under heavy construction since many homes were burned to the ground during the So. Cal wildfires in Oct. 2003. We are back in a newly rebuilt home and have had our share of ants to deal with. But this is a new one – we ’ re hoping these are not Powder Post Beetle s . Some of our neighbors are sure these are ticks. They have been sited in neighboring towns too – that are not under heavy construction. We have a newly built two-story house and they continue to appear upstairs and downstairs by the dozens. OK, we had fire, we had terrible rains last year, but hopefully there are no locusts on th e way. All kidding aside, we are so happy to be home and hope that you can tell us that this bug isn ’ t something that can destroy our home or carpet or hurt our animals. Thanks!
Lynda Felder

Hi Lynda,
These are neither ticks nor powderpost beetles, but Burrower Bugs, Family Cydnidae. According to Borror and Delong: “They are usually found burrowing beneath stones or boards, in sand, or in the mold about the roots of grass tufts; sometimes they are found in ant nests.” This might be Cyrtomenus mirabilis, a species found in the South and Southwest.

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