My Bug
I recently came across this bug outside my doctor’s building in Branson, MO. Thinking it was a plastic kid’s model like my daughter has collected since she could talk, I did not hesitate to bend over and pick it up. It was some surprise to see that the pinchers on the front were actually fuzzy and thus the realization that it was a REAL bug. A big dead beautiful bug! GROOVY! I have spent my entire life in this area and am familiar with most bugs around, good and nuisance, but this one has almost become an obsession. It is actually 36mm in length and I know it is a male Grant’s Rhinoceros Beetle, I cannot find anywhere near here that this bug would be native to and am anxious to find out all I canabout a new kind of tourist that may be traveling to the area, and how to preserve it for my daughter. Thank you so very much,
Tina High
Branson, MO

Hi Tina,
Since Grant’s Hercules Beetle is native to the American Southwest, we would identify your beetle as the closely related Eastern Hercules Beetle, Dynastes tityus, a native for Missouri. The beetle will dry naturally, and your only fear should be collection destroying insects like Dermestid Beetles.

This is a june bug right?
Hi, I live up by Eureka California… We’ve had several of these bugs smack into our sliding glass door at night. (Their wingspan when opened is about the size of my palm) I’m pretty sure it’s a Ten Lined June Beetle.. But the faces of the bugs on your site were a little unclear… I tried to get a decent shot of this one.. It has a face like a bat. Anyway, just thought I’d pass these along. (this beetle died of natural causes… well.. actually, not so natural.. smacking into a glass door is not exactly dying of old age.)
Jackie

Hi Jackie,
Your identification is correct. This is a Ten Lined June Beetle.

Hello
Hi,
I live in Tucson, Arizona and I found this beetle outside on my front porch. I thought it resembled a ‘ Megasoma punctulatus’ after looking on Google but then I realized that the horn like points on its head were reversed. It has three points above its head resembling an upside-down triangle. Thanks. Hi, Sorry for another E-mail but I forgot to include that it is two inches in length. Thanks again,
Leon

Hi Leon,
This is a Carrot Beetle, Tomarus gibbosus, and it is a new species for our site. You can find more information on BugGuide, which states that it ranges from “coast to coast.”

Correction: Oops, we erred (07/28/2008)
Daniel:
Hope your lecture at the Getty went well!
… Aside, on the “carrot beetle” from Tucson: they don’t get anywhere near two inches long! The insect in the image is a female ox beetle, Strategus aloeus. I’d be curious to know where in Tucson (it is a sprawling city) the person found it. I think that covers all your questions. Keep up the great work.
Eric Eaton

Flying Beetle?
Hi,
I live in Toronto, Canada and found this flying around my front porch last night once the sun had gone down. If was fairly passive and large than a June bug, about an inch long. Thanks,
Grant Foster

Hi Grant,
We have been receiving numerous inquiries daily regarding the identification of the Grapevine Beetle, Pelidnota punctata, but all of the images have been blurry. Thanks for sending us a focused photo worth posting. The coloration of this beetle ranges from pale cream to dark burnt orange, and black spots vary in size.

Male and Female Hercules Beetles
Dear Bugman,
I saw this behemoth chilling out on my front porch the other night when I went out to walk the dog (she almost ate him!). He is about 3 inches long. After an extensive photo session (he was a superb model!) I immediately consulted your website and discovered him to be a male hercules beetle. Then a few evenings later I met Mr. Hercules Beetle’s wife! She was a little harder to photograph because she was spinning in circles on the pavement, but she was equally large and just as cool. Instead of big horns she has cute feathered antennae and big, buggy eyes. I know you’re an identification site and I already know what these enormous, lovely beetles are, but I just had to share my pictures and good luck in spotting them. My husband officially thinks I am nuts. I have ID’d many a bug using your web pages. Thanks for the awesome website!
Sarah Wang
Williamsburg, VA

Hi Sarah,
In many ways you are our ideal reader. You have a fondness and curiosity for the natural world, yet your background is not natural science. You have a digital camera and you know how to use it, and you are adept at web research. We have never claimed to be a legitimate scientific website, but rather, we revel in our pop culture status. Your photos of a male and female Eastern Hercules Beetle are both quite stunning, and many a collector is green with envy at your fortuitous discovery. Thank you ever so much for contributing to our website and we are pleased to hear we have been helpful in the past. By the way, tell your husband you are not nuts, but that you have an attention to detail.

Polyphylla decemlineata?
Speaking of flying objects… This fellow thought my eyeglass frame was a perfect landing site while we sat outside eating on the patio on a hot summer night. He was clearly attracted to the lights. I think it’s a 10-line June Beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata)? When I first picked him up (a “him” because of his fan-like antennae for sensing female pheromones), he let out a breathy, indignant squeak! I took him out to the pine duff where he might enjoy a healthy beetle supper of pine needles. He’ll also avoid further collision with me or a lit window out there. Thought you’d enjoy the images.
Lori
Altadena foothills, California

Hi Lori,
What a wonderful letter to accompany your photo of a Ten Lined June Beetle. The squeeking is known as stridulation. Despite living in Mt Washington in view of downtown Los Angeles and where there are numerous pines, we only encounter Ten Lined June Beetles in Pasadena at Art Center College of Design’s hillside campus when we teach during the summer. We see them on the bridge on the north side of campus outside of the library where they are also attracted to the lights.