Subject: What am I? I scared the people around me!
Geographic location of the bug: San Francisco, CA USA
Date: 11/27/2017
Time: 04:22 AM EDT
Hello, I found this bug crawling across my bathroom floor. I poured 70% alcohol over it and that stopped it. I took this picture after it dried. It is about a 1/2 cm. Should I be scared? Do you think he was alone…
How you want your letter signed: Thank you very much, Rick
Dear Rick,
This is a harmless (to humans), predatory Ground Beetle in the family Carabidae. As Ground Beetles go, it is a small individual, with Caterpillar Hunters reaching about an inch and a half in length. In our opinion, pouring alcohol on a harmless creature is Unnecessary Carnage.
Daniel,
Thank you for your quick response. Point taken. When I saw, what I now know to be a beetle, I called in my roommate. He thought it was a bed bug– and we did kill it. When we looked up close, we figured out it probably wasn’t a bed bug, but still didn’t know if it might be dangerous. Now we know.
Thanks, Rick
The pale elytral border and overall appearance reminds me strongly of genus Tanystoma, despite the blurriness.
A beetle which appears identical to T. maculicolle is the most conspicuously-abundant carabid I see at night in the garden, but interestingly bugguide has very few pictures of genus Tanystoma.
The pale elytral border and overall appearance reminds me strongly of genus Tanystoma, despite the blurriness.
A beetle which appears identical to T. maculicolle is the most conspicuously-abundant carabid I see at night in the garden, but interestingly bugguide has very few pictures of genus Tanystoma.