Subject: Black beetle with fun antennae
Geographic location of the bug: Kansas City
Date: 10/09/2017
Time: 07:18 PM EDT
Found this little beetle on my outside window. I love the antennae. Could you tell me please what this is?
How you want your letter signed: TW
Dear TW,
This is a male Cedar Beetle or Cicada Parasite Beetle, Sandalus niger, which we identified on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, they are present “mostly: Sept-Oct.” Of the genus, BugGuide notes: “antennae flabellate in males, serrate in females” and flabellate is an entomological term to describe fanlike antennae.
A reader comments.
Subject (please be succinct, descriptive and specific): Cedar Beetle
October 12, 2017
Through your site I discovered that I had found a Cedar Beetle. My husband and I are in Littlefield Texas for a few months for a job and this is where I found it. A few days later I went for a walk and saw a large amount of them flying around a tree in our backyard. It was very strange as there seemed to be only one female and the rest were males all trying to mate with her. I have several pictures and videos of them. If you are interested in seeing them I would be happy to send them to you. Also, the following day I was digging to plant a bush and dug up a female. She seemed fully formed but not quite ready for the outside world yet. I wasn’t sure if I should bury her or not so I put her under the bush I planted. A short time later, I saw two males buzzing around looking for her. Thanks for your time reading this and the work you put into this site!
Your Name: Jacqueline Hook