Subject: Bright Green beetle, dark blue legs and orange head.
Geographic location of the bug: Mitcham Victoria Australia
Date: 01/30/2019
Time: 11:40 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Can you identify this beetle? I would be very great full if you can.
How you want your letter signed: Yours truly Andrea King
This is a marvelous image of what we believe is a female Golden Stag Beetle, Lamprima aurata, that we identified thanks to the Museums Victoria Collections site where it is described as: “Body oval and shiny. Colour varies; green, red, blue or purple all over body. Males have larger bodies and larger jaws (mandibles) than females. Body up to 3 cm long, usually 1.5 – 2.5 cm.” FlickR includes a really beautiful image, and according to Encyclopedia of Life: ” is relatively common throughout Australia, and fairly variable in coloration, so has been given many names by various authors. Females are smaller than the males, and males have the mandibles enlarged and prolonged forwards. The colour of the males is typically metallic golden green or golden yellow, while females may be blue, blue-green or also dull brown.” Your inquiry is perfectly timed to be our Bug of the Month for February 2019.
Hi Daniel,
That is marvellous. Just wondering if I can have my name on it instead of ‘yours truly’ as I didn’t know what was meant by ‘how would you like it signed’. Also does it cost to register on the site?
Kind regards
Andrea King
Hi Andrea,
There is no charge to register on WTB?