Subject: What bug is this?
Geographic location of the bug: Lampedusa, Italy
Date: 10/22/2017
Time: 08:14 AM EDT
I’m currently staying on the island of Lampedusa and seeing some unfamiliar bugs. This was has just appeared on my balcony – I thought it some kind of bee at first but on closer inspection looks more like a furry beetle.
Also, am I better off leaving it or relocating it to an area with shrubs etc?
How you want your letter signed: Mike
Dear Mike,
We are nearly certain that this is a Bumblebee Scarab in the family Glaphyridae. Here is a Project Noah image of a member of the family and PICSSR has a nice image by YM Zhang that looks very similar to your individual. Forum Entomologi Italiani has numberous images of members of this family, including this image of Pygopleurus apicalis. If you send your images to them and you get a response, please let us know. According to The Scarabs of the Levant: “Except for a few species, life histories of the glaphyrids are poorly documented. Adults are often brightly colored, densely setose, active diurnally, and strong fliers. Many species have colored setal bands on the abdomen and resemble various Hymenoptera (bumble bees and metallic bees). They are frequenting flowers (often red Ranuncolacee and Tulipa) and foliage.”
