Subject: Fuzzy blue bug
Location: West Texas
October 27, 2012 9:29 pm
Hello,
My kids are cleaning out an old horse/goat/cow pen in West Texas. They came across this bug.
He (and his many family members) were living amongst the animal droppings. It was just found in late October. Temp was about 75, no rain.
He was about the size of a quarter.
Signature: Jenny Engstrom
Hi Jenny,
This is a Darkling Beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, but that is a very large family and we are having trouble identifying the species. It looks most like the members of the tribe Centriopterini which we browsed on BugGuide. The closest photos on BugGuide are of this unidentified species from Yucca Valley and this photo of Asbolus laevis from the Imperial Valley. We have written to Eric Eaton for assistance.
On Oct 27, 2012, at 9:46 PM, Eric Eaton wrote:
Daniel:
I would agree with Asbolus laevis.
Eric
Thanks Eric,
I remember you writing long ago that if I can’t figure out what a beetle is, check the Darklings.