Expert: Ed Saugstad - 8/12/2004

Question
My 6yr old son came out of his upstairs bedroom with very wide eyes and said, "Mom....you HAVE to see this bug!".  Crawling around his room was a very large black beetle.  Measured about an inch or so (no less), was completely black and shiney.  Had legs with projections sticking out of them like the barbs on fish-hooks.  Something I wouldnt want getting tangled in my hair...lol.  Was crawling very slowly, and was not a skinny beetle/bug.  Didnt have "horns", and I didnt notice anything else unusual about it except it's size.  Can you tell me what this may have been?  I looked all over on the net and coudnt find a pic like it anywhere.  Thank you!

Answer
Dear Dawn - Without a more detailed description, it is difficult to make a definitive identificaton. However, I would hazard a guess that it most likely belongs to the family Scarabaeidae, a very large and diverse group of beetles that includes the so-called 'June bugs' and 'May beetles' as well as the Japanese beetle and many others. These beetles tend to walk slowly and deliberately, rather than scurrying about like many others. For example, if your specimen had skittered about as if it couldn't really walk and had been described as somewhat 'boat-shaped,' I would have suspeced that it might be a predaceous diving beetle (family Dytiscidae). For some pictures of Scarab beetles, , see http://www.bugpeople.org/taxa/Coleoptera/Scarabaeidae/_photos/1995-0521-0108-001... http://www.lesinsectesduquebec.com/insecta/24-coleoptera/scarabaeidae.jpg (look at families 36 and 37), http://www.fsca-dpi.org/FloridaInsectGallery/images/dungbeetle.jpg (look at Phanaeus igneus
(Scarabaeidae), http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Geotrupidae/Geotrupes/stercorarius/geo... and http://cedarcreek.umn.edu/insects/newslides/024030116001ep3.jpg
Please remember that these photos are of representative species in this group, and that it is unlikely that you will see anything that looks exactly like your specimen, but you should be able to determine whether or not there is a general resemblance in overall appearance.
Hope this helps,
Saugy