Pair of Beetles in Northwestern Sydney, Australia
Sat, Dec 20, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Hey guys!
This is my second time writing in, only not for a few years. I was ratting around in a rotten wood pile in my backyard in Galston (which is northwestern outskirts of Sydney), and found this glorious pair of beetles. I’m assuming by the difference in mandible size that I have a female and male, but for the life of me I cannot find them anywhere on any site. Have you got any clues for me?
Ps: In my last letter, I mentioned getting a bug themed sleeve- well it’s 90% done and I even got the botany bay weevil included in there 🙂
Ash
Sydney, Australia
Hi Ash,
We need to do some research on the identity of your interesting beetles, but we need to rush out of the house right now. We will post the images and research later, but we are also hoping one of our readers can provide a proper identification as well.
Update December 24, 2008
Hi, Daniel:
The “unknown Australian beetles” are stag beetles, family Lucanidae. I’ll see if I can’t find out more…..Do I rock or what?! LOL! I found the species of those “unidentified Australian beetles.” They are stag beetles, family Lucanidae, specifically Rhyssonotus nebulosus. Great name for a really cool insect.
Take care, best to Lisa, too.
Eric Eaton
December 29, 2008
That’s fantastic! I feel really proud of myself as a budding entomologist that I was able to guess (by body structure) that they were some sort of stag beetle. Thanks heaps.
Wow! I found exactly the same beetle when I was in Tathra. I have a photo of it somewhere… I had quite a few mites so I brushed them off with a paintbrush. Is there somewhere I can share the photo?
Definitely Rhyssonotus nebulosus, quite a common stag beetle.
Cheers
Allen Sundholm