Subject:  jewel beetle?
Geographic location of the bug:  San Jose del Cabo, BCS, Mexico
Date: 09/06/2018
Time: 05:09 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Can you please identify this beetle? It’s about 1.5 inches long
Thank you
How you want your letter signed:  Mike Hubbard

Ruby Click Beetle

Dear Mike,
While this is NOT a Jewel Beetle in the family Buprestidae, it is a beetle with a jewel mentioned in its common name.  It is a Ruby Click Beetle, Chalcolepidius rubripennis.  The Ruby Click Beetle is well represented on iNaturalist. 

Ruby Click Beetle

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Subject:  What is this Texas bug
Geographic location of the bug:  South Central Texas
Date: 08/11/2018
Time: 12:39 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Would you please identify this bug
How you want your letter signed:  Bug

Eyed Elater

Dear Bug,
No other North American beetle looks quite like the distinctive Eyed Elater.

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Subject:  Large black bug with huge false eyes
Geographic location of the bug:  North central North Carolina
Date: 08/02/2018
Time: 11:51 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This bug was on the wall of our home in NC.  Date was August 2,2018.  I would estimate that it was a little over an inch long.  I am pretty sure the “eyes” are not actual eyes but rather adaptive coloring.
How you want your letter signed:  Will Parrish

Eyed Elater

Dear Will,
This impressive Click Beetle is appropriately called an Eyed Elater, and you are correct that those “eyes” are not real and are used as protection against predators.

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Subject:  Huge flying bug – Atlanta GA
Geographic location of the bug:  Lawrenceville GA USA
Date: 07/07/2018
Time: 10:52 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  This thing flew onto out covered deck. At first I thought it was a hummingbird. We picked it up and set on the railing away from our puppy. Thought maybe it was playing dead, so we checked an hour later and it was gone.
How you want your letter signed:  Janet Tolman

Eyed Elater

Dear Janet,
The Eyed Elater is the largest Click Beetle in North America.

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Subject:  Beetle ?
Geographic location of the bug:  western new york
Date: 06/25/2018
Time: 08:56 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  found on golf course near niagara falls
How you want your letter signed:  jw

Eyed Elater

Dear jw,
This is an Eyed Elater, the largest North American Click Beetle.  The “eyes” are actually eyespots, markings that might fool a predator into thinking the Eyed Elater is a much larger, and potentially threatening creature, when it is in fact quite harmless.

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Subject:  What bug is this
Geographic location of the bug:  Newport News Virginia
Date: 06/13/2018
Time: 08:07 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Seen this bug outside, my friend said it was a roach but I don’t think it is
How you want your letter signed:  Jordan hammond

Click Beetle

Dear Jordan,
Your friend is mistaken.  This is a Click Beetle in the family Elateridae.  Click Beetles have gotten their common name because they are able to snap their bodies if they find themselves on their backs, and the snapping propels them into the air so that they land on their feet, producing a clicking sound during the action.

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