Subject: Large Italian mystery beetle
Location: Lucignana, Tuscany, Italy
July 6, 2017 3:45 pm
Hi Dr Bugman,
Please could you help me identify my mystery beetle? We found it in the Tuscan countryside just north of Lucca. It was very dead already with the entire thorax eaten by ants, so we brought it home and framed it. As you do. However I’ve googled the crap out of it and can’t find anything like it. It would be really great to give it a name. It is about 40mm long and when found had its wings half out. They were the usual translucent grey of most beetles. It has no hairs protruding off the carapace but it may have had antennae before the ants got to it.
Thanks for your help!
Kind regards,
Signature: Beth
Dear Beth,
This impressive Scarab Beetle is a Pine Chafer, Polyphylla fullo, a species found in much of Europe. Alamy has some beautiful images of Pine Chafers, and the species has even appeared on a postage stamp in Czechoslovakia that is pictured on the Colnect site. Males Pine Chafers have very impressive antennae.
