Subject: Black bug with stripe
Geographic location of the bug: Table Mountain, South Africa
Date: 10/20/2018
Time: 04:42 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello all,
I came across this bug while climbing table mountain in south africa. Does anyone know what it is?
Thanks
How you want your letter signed: Joe
Dear Joe,
This looks like one of the South African Darkling Beetles in the genus Psammodes known as Tok-Tokkies, but the stripe is something we have not seen, so we will attempt a species identification for you.
Update: October 29, 2018
Thanks to a comment from Emily, we now realize the stripe is actually a blurry blade of grass.
I don’t think that’s a stripe, just a well-placed blurry blade of grass 🙂
We believe you are correct. Thanks for noticing that.