Posts

Click beetle

6437. Found crawling along the patio … about the size of a common black ant, which I thought it was initially; however, when provoked it jumped several inches in the air. Caught this one and two others, and found they seemed to be coming out from under a garden shed, that is adjacent to our patio. Simply wondering what this is, whether it is harmful in any way, or perhaps a predator to other insects. Thanks. Kitchener, Ontario. Canada

Number 6437. This is a click beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae); the larvae of some species are known as wireworms. Click here for an example. 

Foreign grain beetle

6420. Tiny, size of fruit fly but do not fly. In upstairs bathroom, many on ceiling. Mcrae Drive, Toronto, Ontario. Canada

 

 

Number 6420. Looks like a foreign grain beetle, Ahasverus advena (Coleoptera: Silvanidae). Also known as the new house beetle, these basically are nuisance pests that cause no real harm and control seldom is warranted. Click here for more detailed information

Darkling beetle

6390  Cool Finished basement June 12, 2019. 32 Edna St. Noëlville, Ontario P0M 2N0 Canada

 

Number 6390. This is a darkling beetle (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Ones like this often are found under bark of logs or dead trees; its occurrence indoors is strictly accidental.

Predaceous diving beetle

#5633  Hello, Hoping to identify this bug please. caught April 1, 2016 at dusk (about 8:30pm) west edge of Calgary, Ab.   Canadian quarter for scale.  Cat caught it in garden mulch near coniferous trees.  Thank you, Carol

This is a predaceous diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae); likely in the genus Dytiscus. These beetles (and their larvae, ‘water tigers’) are general predators on other small aquatic life forms. They also are excellent fliers, and may be found quit  some distance from any water. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.