Subject: Very smelly beetle!
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
September 24, 2012 12:28 pm
Hello. I came home from a long day and found this little bug hanging out on my blinds. I’m sure there was nothing of use to him in my house so I picked him up to put him outside and he let out quite the stink! I couldn’t tell where it came from because there was no liquid or anything, but it was quite strong; like the smell when you pick up a lady-bug. He had a very nice pink around his head. Dark brownblack body, maybe the whole body was 1” long. Had a habit of ending up on his back (you can see it in the last picture). I flipped him over and set him outside after these pictures. Any help in identifying him would be appreciated! Thanks!
Signature: A girl that still smells of beetle
Dear girl that still smells of beetle,
This appears to be a Diurnal Firefly in the genus Ellychnia, based on photos posted to BugGuide. There is even a ventral view that looks exactly like your image which shows this genus lacks the light producing organ at the tip of the abdomen.
Thank you for the quick. I’ve never seen a firefly before so I am delighted and also surprised that I finally know what one looks like; the image I had in my mind of what one looked like was quite different. Thanks again!