Mystery Beetle with Cute Antennae
Could you identify this beetle that I found in our backyard this morning? I am attaching a picture – the antennae are so unusual – and I have to say it – cute. We live in Pembroke Pines, FL – south Florida just south of Ft. Lauderdale.

Dear Suze,
I must say I admire that you polish your nails before digging in the dirt. You have a magnificent photograph of a female Rainbow Scarab, Phanaues vindex, which is relatively common in Florida. These are scarab beetles further classified as Dung Beetles or Tumblebugs. The male Rainbow Scarab has a single long curved horn which arises from his head. These insects are unusual in that they work in pairs, rolling a ball of animal dung which is buried with a single egg. The dung is the food source for the developing grub. They are important in that they help clear away and break down the animal excrement, making for a more beautiful environment as well as more fertile soil. This type of beetle is the scarab of Egyptian heiroglyphics and jewelry. The ancient Egyptians were fascinated by the appearance of the beetles rolling a ball of dung in the sand and likened the ball to the orb of the sun.

unknown Beetle
Dear Bugman,
Today I found this exquisite beetle in my back yard, unfortunately something else ha d found him first. : ( I was wondering if you would be able to tell me what kind of beetle he is as no-one I know has seen one like him before. I’ve included a couple of photographs below but I couldn’t find a way to make them any clearer with my camera. I hope they are okay. Thanks,
JP

Hi JP,
Though you did not indicate where you are located, since the Fiddler Beetle, Eupoecila australasiae, is an Australian species, we are deducing you are somewhere down under. Fiddler Beetles can have bright green markings or golden yellow markings. These scarab beetles feed on nectar, often from eucalyptus trees, and the beetle grubs feed on rotting wood.

I live in near central Oklahoma near the SW side of OKC. We have lateral lines (picture, if you will, 4 human fingers) that extend out of our septic tank. These lateral lines disseminate throughout the ground. Which means we have four long lines of well fertilized grass. This month, those lines were extremely tall and thick. In them and flying over them were these humongous flying critters. They resembled the size of a bumblebee. They became very active when I came near the lines with the riding lawnmower. Because I couldn’t get close enough to identify them (I’m allergic to bees), I can give you a general description:
They are very “heavy” looking. The backs of them sort of had a darkblack/green sheen to them and the bottom sort of had the appearance of black and yellow although I cannot confirm this. I thought maybe they were bumblebees but I had not ever seen the dark green on a bumblebee before. Of course, I’ve only seen one bumblebee in my entire life.
There were at one time, over a hundred of these buggers flying lazily around over the grass. They concentrated in that area only. The rest of the yard was free from these insects. I didn’t know if they had built themselves a home in the grass or they were attracted to them. They did become a little more aggressive in their flying when I came near them.
However, once the tall grass was mowed down, they were gone. Have any idea what they might be?
April Harrington

Dear April,
Green June Beetles are large and green with yellow undersides. They are known to be extremely plentiful at times, especially where there is horse manure present. I would guess that your septic tank attracted them, and the eggs were laid in the rich soil. When they emerged, they did so in vast numbers. They are harmless, though somewhat frightening.

Hello,
I was wondering if you could tell me what this thing was. It is very different. However I found it dead, so I decided to take pics, It looks mean. What is it’s purpose. I have never seen anything like this. We are in the Limestone area, of Texas. Thanks ever so much.
Gary

Hi Gary, It is a male Unicorn Beetle, Dynastes tityus, a member of the scarab family prized by collectors. The males have three horns, not one, so Unicorn Beetle is something of a misnomer. The grubs are found in rotting wood. It is a Southern insect.  It is also known as an Eastern Hercules Beetle.