A big beetle!
Location: Sacramento CA
April 1, 2012 4:44 pm
Hi Mr. Bugman,
I love your site and have for years. Can you tell me what this 1-3/4” beetle is? My husband is holding him. We found him in the garden in March here in Sacramento Ca.
Signature: Fellow Bug Lover
Giant Black Water Beetle
Dear Fellow Bug Lover,
This is an aquatic beetle, and judging by its size, we are relatively confident it is a Diving Beetle in the family Dytiscidae which is well represented on BugGuide. Though they are aquatic, Diving Beetles fly quite well.
Giant Black Water Beetle
Correction: April 6, 2012
Thanks to a comment from MichaelH, we are linking to the correct species on BugGuide. The Giant Black Water Beetle is also known as the Giant Water Scavenger.
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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination
Location: California
also looks like Hydrophilus triangularis
Thanks for the correction.
what kind of bug is this…in S. California, Big, Round, Fast flying and fast turns, buzz like a bee when it flys by and very Black. Kinda looks like a bubble bee but faster, bigger and black. They seem to follow me when i’m smoking cig outside. Do they bite or sting?
Sounds like a female Valley Carpenter Bee.
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2004/04/24/valley-carpenter-bee-female/