Subject: Purple and Orange Scorpion-like Bug
Location: São Paulo / Brazil
November 15, 2015 6:03 pm
Found at the Pedra Grande State Park in the city of São Paulo, southeast Brazil in June 2014.
Signature: Guilherme Ramalho
Dear Guilherme,
Though we have not been successful at determining a species identity, we can tell you that this is a Rove Beetle in the family Staphylinidae, and that it is the most brightly colored Rove Beetle we have ever seen, which makes it puzzling that we were not able to locate any matching images online. We will contact Cesar Crash who edits our sister site in Brazil, Insetologia, to see if he can provide any additional information. This pose is a typical threat position of Rove Beetles, and although they expel a foul odor, they are otherwise harmless. The one exception to that are the Rove Beetles from the genus Paederus, known as Creechie Bugs in Africa. According to BugGuide: “some species contain a toxic chemical (pederin) in their hemolymph which causes contact dermatitis in humans, usually as a result of slapping the beetle and crushing it against exposed skin. The affected area becomes red, swollen, and itchy, causing the skin to peel when scratched.”
Cesar Crash writes back
Yes, I do! The beauty is in the genus Glenus, we have two on Insetologia:
http://www.insetologia.com.br/2014/11/besouro-estafilinideo-glenus-em-sao.html
http://www.insetologia.com.br/2015/10/besouro-estafilinideo-glenus-em-minas.html
and I guess G. biplagiatus http://www.me.esalq.usp.br/fotos/Coleoptera/Staphilinidae/1728.jpg
Best, Cesar
