Subject: Spectacle bug
Location: Baltimore Maryland, woods
May 12, 2014 8:13 pm
Saw this on a tree trunk in Robert E Lee park in Baltimore Md today. The park is really a fairly large woods with a stream and lake close by.
Signature: Joe Halloran
Eyed Elater
Hi Joe,
In our opinion, the Eyed Elater, a large Click Beetle that you have submitted, is an unforgettable beetle that the average North American has a good chance of encountering at least once in a lifetime. The false eyespots are an effective defense mechanism by making the harmless Eyed Elater look larger and quite fierce to a bird or other predator.
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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
I sent a picture to find out what bug this was and then found the pic of the eyed elator beetle so now i know. I have seen 2 this month of May in San Antonio Tx. They fly like they are too heavy and may crash
We are happy your mystery was solved.
We found an eyed elater in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. What a wild looking beetle!
One of these guys tried to get into our building at work yesterday and I was so excited when it finally landed long enough for me to take a picture. I will now try to figure out how to post it.