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Green Scarab Beetle from India is structurally coloured according to Wikipedia

ID pls
Location: Bannerghatta National park., Karnataka, south India
November 14, 2011 12:19 am
hi, i found this fellow in my place. place found was South India, Karantaka, Bangalore, Scrub forest Bannerghatta National park. pls can i know the common and scientific name of this fellow
Signature: rameshb belagere

green scarab india rameshb 300x228 Green Scarab Beetle from India is structurally coloured according to Wikipedia

Unknown Green Scarab Beetle

Dear rameshb belagere,
This is a Scarab Beetle in the family Scarabaeidae, but our initial search of the internet has not turned up a definitive species identification.  We believe it is the same species as this unidentified photo posted on vidarbha wildlife.  One of our readers may be able to assist in this identification.

Identification Courtesy of Karl
Hi Daniel and rameshb belagere:
I think you are right about the unidentified photo you linked to (on vidarbha wildlife). It looks like a Flower Chafer (Scarabeidae: Cetoniinae), probably Heterorrhina elegans. You can just make out the four black, raised bumps (calli, or singular callus) on the elytra that apparently are diagnostic for the species. Online images are scarce but a set of three appears on various sites, including Wikipedia. If you care to read a detailed description you can access an online version of the relevant volume (G. J. Arrow 1910) of “The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma”. The relevant text includes: “…the sutural margins of the elytra posteriorly and the apical calli black (generally also the humeral calli, but less distinctly.)” and “H. elegans is distinguishable from all other Indian species of the genus by its extremely glossy surface, as well as by the black spot near the end of each elytron.”  I can’t be absolutely certain, but I believe that is it. Regards. Karl

Thanks so much Karl.  We are fascinated by the Wikipedia claim that the coloration is not due to pigment, but to structure, or as it is more technically stated:  “The physics of the colouration of the cuticle is a subject of interest as the colours are entirely structural, not produced by pigments, and nearly 200 year old specimens show no degradation of the colours.[3] The underlying structures made up of nearly 50 microscopic double layers[4] have been studied in the search for structural paints that do not need pigments which are often environmentally toxic chemicals.”  The coloration of the Morpho is also due to structure and not pigment.

3.  Neville, AC & S Caveney (1969). “Scarabaeid beetle exocuticle as an optical analogue of cholesteric liquid crystals”. Biological Reviews 44 (4): 531–562. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1969.tb00611.x. PMID 5308457.

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Posted 14 November 2011 § Scarab Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Rain Beetle

Found a bug
Location: Northern Ca foothills near Auburn CA
November 13, 2011 1:58 pm
Hi, I found this bug on my doorstep this morning. It is about 2 inches long. Not sure what kind it is and if I should be concerned about the trees or house. We live in a heavily wooded area, many pines and oaks in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Auburn CA.
Can you tell us what bug this is?
Signature: Duke

rain beetle duke 300x255 Rain Beetle

Rain Beetle

Hi Duke,
Congratulations on your wonderful sighting.  This is a male Rain Beetle in the family Pleocomidae (see BugGuide), a family with a range that is limited to the west coast of North America.  Rain Beetles are a very unusual family of beetles.  Larvae live underground and feed on the roots of oaks and conifers and they can remain underground for as long as ten years.  Mating activity is triggered by rain.  Only male Rain Beetles have wings, and they will circle the ground until they locate the burrows of a flightless female.  There are many species of Rain Beetles and many have very limited ranges.  An expert is required to distinguish one species from another.  There was an excellent article in the LA Times several years ago on the Rain Beetles. 

Posted 13 November 2011 § Rain Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Blister Beetle

Black Beetle
Location: 15 miles west of Eugene, Oregon
November 11, 2011 2:31 pm
Dear Mr. Bugman,
Could you help me identify this insect that is eating my zinnias (petals only, receptacles need not apply) with what I can only term as orgiastic abandon. Although they seem similar to blister beetles, I can handle them with no ill effects. Thank you for your input.
Yours entomologically
Signature: zekenzoey

black blister beetle zekenzoey 300x212 Unknown Blister Beetle

Blister Beetle

Dear zekensoey,
While we cannot be certain of the species, we are confident that this is a Blister Beetle in the family Meloidae.  There are several black Blister Beetles in the genus Epicauta including Epicauta pennsylvanica, the Black Blister Beetle, however, it is not reported on BugGuidefrom Oregon.  The elytra appear to be too smooth to be the Punctate Blister Beetle, Epicauta puncticollis, which ranges in Oregon according to BugGuide.

black blister beetle zekenzoey 2 300x206 Unknown Blister Beetle

Blister Beetle

  We will do additional research to see if we can determine a species.

black blister beetle zekenzoey 3 300x221 Unknown Blister Beetle

Blister Beetle

Eric Eaton responds to our identification request
Daniel:
No, I don’t, but Jacques Rifkind might.  I thought I had his e-mail but apparently not handy.  Give me another day or so?
Eric

 

Posted 12 November 2011 § Blister Beetles ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Oil Beetle

Ant queen?
Location: Michigan
November 10, 2011 11:00 pm
I found this in the woods and I thought it might be an ant queen. It’s a little over an inch long so I was able to spot it from a distance. Any ideas?
Signature: Weezie G.

oil beelte weezie 288x300 Oil Beetle

Oil Beetle

Dear Weezie,
At this time of year, we typically get numerous requests like your request to identify Oil Beetles in the genus Meloe.  You are not the first person who has mistaken an Oil Beetle for a queen ant.

Posted 11 November 2011 § Blister Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Secretions from an Acrobat Beetle

Pinacate Beetle Secretions
November 10, 2011 11:14 pm
Do you know of anyone who has had the secretions from this beetle on their skin? What does it look like?  I suspect my daughter has been repeatedly sprayed by this beetle that was in her shoe, and she has a dark black area on 2 toes that will not wash off.
Signature: Lori Lindley

acrobat beetle matt 285x300 Secretions from an Acrobat Beetle

Acrobat Beetle

Dear Lori,
Since you did not attach a photo, we located a recent image from our archives of a Pinacate Beetle in the genus Eleodes, also called an Acrobat Beetle or Desert Stink Beetle.  We have no knowledge that the malodorous secretion produced a chemical stain on skin, so we did some research.   According to the Exploring the Southwest Desert USA website:  “They are well known for their comical, yet effective, defense tactics. When alarmed they stand on their heads by bending their front legs down and extending their rear legs. Depending upon the species, they exude an oily, musty secretion, which collects at the tip of the abdomen or spreads over posterior parts of the body, or they eject the reddish brown to brown secretion as a spray. Larger desert species, like E. armata and E. longicollis, can spray 10 to 20 inches. Most species can spray multiple times, if necessary. The spray is not painful unless you get it in your eyes or mouth, where it is painful, burning and temporarily blinding. It does not wash off.”

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Posted 11 November 2011 § Darkling and Ironclad Beetles ‡ Comments (0) °

Oil Beetle

metallic blue and black bug
Location: Rhide Island, USA
November 10, 2011 7:58 am
My kids found this in my backyard, in Rhode Island. It was taken with my android phone using it’s macro setting, if you look closely you can see a smaller orangish bug on its back, just behind his head. Could it be a baby or a little helper?
Signature: W Mcquade

oil beetle rhode island 300x225 Oil Beetle

Oil Beetle

Dear w Mcquade,
This is an Oil Beetle, a species of Blister Beetle.  Blister Beetles can exude a compound known as cantharidin that is a blistering agent, so Blister Beetles should not be handled.  We cannot make out the identity of the hitchhiker.  It is not a baby blister Beetle.  It may be a Phoretic Mite, but we have not heard of any Mites that use Blister Beetles for transportation.

Posted 10 November 2011 § Blister Beetles § Mites ‡ Comments (3) °

Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mites

Beetle with babies
Location: Hudson Valley NY
November 8, 2011 3:49 pm
Found this during the freak October snowstorm. This was during a power outage so I had to light it with a flashlight, otherwise I would have had better pictures.
What is it? Have never seen one before. It was a beautiful glossy black.
Signature: Bugged in NY

clown beetle mites 295x300 Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mites

Clown Beetle with Mites

Dear Bugged in NY,
Your letter probably deserves much more research than we have the time for right now, so we will be brief.  These are not baby beetles.  They are Mites, and we suspect they are phoretic Mites that are using the beetle as a means of transportation to get from one food source to another.  The beetle is a Clown Beetle in the genus Hololepta.  You can view BugGuide for additional information on Clown Beetles.  Earlier this year, we received another image of a Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mitesand the Mites were identified as  “Neolobogynium americana (family Diplogyniidae). Adults are phoretic on Hololepta beetles.”

clown beetle mites 2 300x225 Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mites

Clown Beetle with Phoretic Mites

 

Posted 09 November 2011 § Clown Beetles § Mites ‡ Comments (0) °

Bumelia Borer from Nicaragua

What about this one, What is it?
Location: 12° 3’ 45.67” North, 86° 18’ 51.88” West (Nicaragua, Managua, El Crucero)
November 7, 2011 10:32 pm
I saa two of these flying insect crawling on a tree in my front yard.
When I got near to take pictures one of them flew towards me and bagan circling me.
Signature: Sergiortc

bumelia borer nicaragua sergio 300x213 Bumelia Borer from Nicaragua

Bumelia Borer

Hola Sergiortc,
This Longhorned Borer Beetle looks to us like the Bumelia Borer, Plinthocoelium suaveolens, a species found in warmer portions of the United States according to BugGuide.  Insects have no respect for international borders, and the range might be greater than in indicated on BugGuide.  We suspect this is the same species or a closely related species.

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Posted 09 November 2011 § Longhorn Beetles ‡ Comments (2) °

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