Subject: Rain Beetle
Geographic location of the bug: Arnold, California 4000′
Date: 02/13/2020
Time: 09:03 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I saw this beetle crawling across our cabin front porch. When I was looking at beetle photos to try to identify it, I thought it sort of looked like a California Rain Beetle, but I didn’t think they lived at 4000″ in the mountains. Can you tell what this guy/gay is?
How you want your letter signed: Curious Bug Fan
Dear Curious Bug Fan,
This is definitely a male Rain Beetle in the genus Pleocoma, and it is our first submission of the season because California has had a very dry winter. Perhaps Rain Beetle expert Gene St. Denis will write in with a species identification.
This is a Pleocoma hoppingi male . Cheers ! Gene St. Denis Sierra Nevada Research
Thanks much Gene. We hoped you noticed the posting.