What kind of beetle?
Location: Corrales, NM
June 13, 2011 12:17 pm
Hi,
These beetles were found in my office in Corrales, NM in June.
Can you help identify them?
Signature: Concerned
Ground Beetle
Dear Concerned,
You have no need to be concerned about this beautiful Ground Beetle in the genus Pasimachus, which is most probably Pasimachus californicus, based on the photos and range listed on bugGuide. Adults and larvae feed on caterpillars, so it probably just wandered into your office accidentally. The genus page on BugGuide indicates a common name Fierce Ground Beetle. If carelessly handled, they might pinch, but the bite has no venom. Your other smaller Ground Beetle is also of no concern. Since you submitted three different identification requests, the only species that you might have some concern about is the female Cockroach carrying an oothica or egg case. The Ground Beetles are considered beneficial, but again, there presence in your office is puzzling. Since this genus is incapable of flight, according to BugGuide which states: “Large, extra-robust, flightless ground beetles (elytra fused into rigid shell). Huge jaws, head, pronotum. Some have blue margins. Typically run about under or on leaf litter in forests”, we would eliminate the possibility that they were attracted to lights, which is often the reason large beetles enter homes.
¶ Posted 16 June 2011 § ‡ ° Metalic green bug
Location: Southern Illinois
June 2, 2011 7:19 pm
I use your site often to identify bugs and butterflies often. I have sent mystery bugs to you in the past as well. I do a lot of nature photography and I find the insect world a facinating place. Last week end we were hiking in Southern Illinois in Garden of the gods State Park. We kept seeing these bright green bugs on the path. I couldn’t get real close to look, I got a couple pictures that didn’t blur. I am just not sure what catagory to use to identify them. They flew and were very fast on their feet. I was not sure if they were a beetle or not. They were about 3/4 of an inch long. Can you help me identify my green friend?
Signature: Janet Fox
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Hi Janet,
We will be out of the office for a week and we are preparing your photo to post live to our site on June 11. This gem-like beauty is a predatory Six Spotted Tiger Beetle, and we often get identification requests for them in the early spring.
Unidentifiable bug/insect in hole
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
June 5, 2011 5:24 pm
I have several holes in my yard about the diameter of a pencil. Every now and then I can see its inhabitant peeking out, but it is quick. It ducks back in before I can really get a good look. Recently I was able to get a photo and try to enlarge image. This is driving me crazy what is this bug?
Signature: Bugged
Tiger Beetle Larva
Hi Bugged,
This is the predatory larva of a Tiger Beetle in the subfamily Cicindelinae and you may compare your photo to this image on BugGuide. BugGuide also offers this information on the larvae: “The larvae typically occur in the same habitat as the adults. The S-shaped larvae construct vertical burrows in the soil and anchor themselves with hooks located on the fifth abdominal segment.”
Beetle in Florida–but what kind?
Location: Riverview, Florida, USA
June 2, 2011 9:51 am
I found this beetle crawling in suburban Florida. It reminds me of the beetles we would catch in Japan, but I’ve never seen one like this here in Florida. What kind of beetle is this, please?
Signature: Todd Beck
Ground Beetle, possibly Pasimachus depressus
Dear Todd,
We cannot help but to marvel at the wondrousness of the engineering of this exquisite Ground Beetle. We believe it is either Pasimachus depressus or something closely related based on images we found on BugGuide. We counted the same number of antenna segments in each, and the shape and indentations in pronotum are remarkably similar. BugGuide indicates: “Presumably predatory on caterpillars, grubs, as other members of this genus.” That really makes us want to post a Food Chain image, though that desire is nowhere near as strong as our desire to post a photo of Dobsonflies mating. The closest we have ever gotten to that fantasy is this marvelous photo of a pair of Dobsonflies in a plastic food container on a picnic table with a insect print tablecloth.
Ed. Note: Frequently, in our desire to answer as many questions as possible, we post very brief identifications. We sometimes forget we are really nothing but a glorified blog. Thankfully, once in a while, a submission like this excites us to the point of wordiness. We hope mardikavana can (hopefully) confirm our identification, and if not, correct our error.
Daniel:
Thank you very much! That’s got to be it. If so, the beetle is a long way from its home in North Carolina. We get a lot of traffic from there here to Florida, so maybe it hitched a ride. Thanks again for the help!
(TWB)
Todd Beck
¶ Posted 03 June 2011 § ‡ ° Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle
Location: Toledo, OH
May 29, 2011 12:51 pm
I can’t help but ponder why the Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle has eight spots… Ah well. These guys are out in full force, and I’ve never really seen them so prevalent. I wish I had a better handle on my new macro lens so that they were a bit more sharp and less grainy. Ah well, I’ll get there! Some impressive jaws on this guy.
Signature: Katy
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Hi Katy,
To make things even more confusing, some individuals of Six Spotted Tiger Beetles have no spots. We feel the quality of your images is perfectly fine.
Six Spotted Tiger Beetle
Vicious pincher?
Location: South-Central Pennsylvania
May 25, 2011 8:43 pm
I’ve been finding about one of these a day in my basement bedroom. This beastly-looking thing was captured and tossed back outside in the grass, where I’d rather they stay. I’m not too keen on being pinched or bitten.
I’ve tried ID’ing it through your site, but there are so many different species of beetle, I don’t know where to begin! I live in south-central Pennsylvania. It’s about half an inch long or so, with an obviously large head, tiny thorax and large abdomen. Can they fly? I would assume this is a PA native?
Signature: Dutch Country Girl
Big Headed Ground Beetle
Dear Dutch Country Girl,
This is a Ground Beetle in the genus Scarites. It is most likely Scarites subterraneus, commonly called and aptly named the Big Headed Ground Beetle. You may read more about it on BugGuide where you will find that it is native to your area as well as to much of the continental U.S.
¶ Posted 26 May 2011 § ‡ ° May 22, 2011
In preparing for the PowerPoint lecture at Theodore Payne Foundation next weekend, we came to the realization that there are no generic Ground Beetle photos from Southern California on our site, hence there is no image to use in the presentation. We grabbed the digital camera and turned over some wood in the garden without any luck, but when we turned over a slab of concrete, about 15 ground beetles started to scurry about. We captured two in a container and took a few quick photos. We believe, according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, that these are Black Ground Beetles, Pristonychus complanatus. Hogue writes that they are “the largest of the ground beetles listed here (5/8 in or 10 mm), this species is all black and has a narrow prothorax, The front of the head is flat and protruding. The Black Ground Beetle was introduced into the basin, but coleopterists (beetle specialists) are not sure of its origins.”
Black Ground Beetles
5
Interesting, and scary, beetle.
Location: Gyeonggi-do Province, Gwangu City, South Korea
May 22, 2011 8:50 am
Dear Whats that Bug,
I stumbled on this ’little’ guy while I was testing an old lens near a large stream. It landed about 3 meters away.
Very very fast moving as well (it scurried a good 5 feet in less than a second). Also quite big. I think it measures to about the length of a 50 cent piece.
Anyways once I saw those mandibles I stayed my distance. I’m guessing it is a male by their size, but they just small enough to be functional. The white on red and black didn’t look particularly pleasant either.
Thanks!
Signature: Ben, South Korea
Japanese Tiger Beetle
Hi Ben,
This magnificent creature is a predatory Japanese Tiger Beetle, Cicindela japonica. We don’t believe you need to fear any bodily harm because of encountering this nor any other Tiger Beetle.
Japanese Tiger Beetle
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