Subject: Mystery beetle
Location: Chinguetti, Mauritania
January 21, 2016 11:04 am
I wrote 11/19/2015 and at that time only had a photo of the beetle on its back. It appears early in the morning when it’s still cool. It is 4cm long. In winter It appears all day long.
The manuscript librarian said there is another species in the evening that looks like this one but with grey spots on its back. It only appears at night. It walks on the walls and makes holes to sleep inside.
Neither bug eats manuscripts but we are curious as to what it is? Please help.
Thanks,
Signature: Michaelle Biddle
Dear Michaelle,
Our hunch is that this is a Darkling Beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, but we do not have time to research a more specific identity this evening. Your beetle does remind us of the Stink Beetles in the genus Eleodes that we have in the Los Angeles area and desert climates in the Southwest U.S.
Dear Daniel –
Thanks for the information. I notice the picture is already up on your pages.
Best,
Michaelle