Subject: Beetle with tree bark camoflauge
Geographic location of the bug: Near Lake Burrendong in NSW Australia
Date: 03/29/2018
Time: 10:03 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello,
On the 28h of March, in the location specified, a beetle with an interesting camoflauge that looked rather like tree bark landed on my green t-shirt. I was curious as to what kind of beetle it was so I managed to take a few photos before it flew away. It stayed on my t-shirt without moving very much for quite a while, maybe 10-20 minutes before it flew away. I knew it was a beetle of some sort since it had wing covers, which I saw when it took flight. It also had six legs, which I observed while it walked across my t-shirt.
It would be great if this beetle could be identified, thanks.
How you want your letter signed: A 16 year old, Alvin Yao
Dear Alvin,
The best clue we have based on your image as we embark upon trying to provide you with an identification are the beaded or moniliform (see BugGuide) antennae. We searched the Brisbane Insect site for Darkling Beetles, but found nothing similar. We just took a guess at the family. We will post your images as unidentified and continue to research your request. Perhaps one of our readers will write in with an identification.
Update: Thanks to a comment from frequent contributor Karl, we agree that this is a Bark Gnawing Beetle which is depicted on Life Unseen.
A dorsal view would help a lot.
First thought and best guess: anthribid fungus weevil
Looks like a Bark-gnawing Beetle (Trogossitidae). Compare to Lepidopteryx sp.https://lifeunseen.smugmug.com/Insects/Beetles-order-Coleoptera/Trogossitidae-Barkgnawing-Beet/Trogossitidae-Barkgnawing-Beet/i-brc9jGJ
That does seem like a good match too. Unfortunately, our mystery beetle is depicted at a skewed angle, obscuring head structure
Thanks Karl,
The Bark Gnawing Beetle looks correct to us.