Eleodes armata

[kevink]

My new capture from central Oregon, it was lurking under the uv light when I was scooping up Smerinthus cerisyi.

Currently living safely indoors eating oats and beetle jelly. Have mercy, I'm still getting the hang of resizing pictures.

 

[Hisserdude]

Not Eleodes armata. Eleodes armata are characterized by having spines on all six femora, hence the name "armata". 

This actually isn't even Eleodes, rather a species of Coelocnemis, probably C.dilaticollis. Coelocnemis different from Eleodes in having golden hairs on the underside of their tibiae and tarsi, and always lack femoral spines (which Eleodes usually have at least on their first pair of legs). They're also way harder to breed since their larvae are highly cannibalistic... And some Coelocnemis species may require a rotten wood substrate to induce oviposition.

 

[kevink]

Thanks for your post. I just looked at my beetle, and it does lack the femoral spines. I don't understand, using Evans "Beetles of Western North America"

except for the lack of spines, I see very little resemblance to the picture of Coelocnemis dilaticollis, the body is not smooth, as it is in my apparently misidentified

beetle. Maybe that's the variability described, my beetle is on the large side of his dilaticollis description. Perhaps I'll change substrate and see what

happens.

 

[Hisserdude]

Thanks for your post. I just looked at my beetle, and it does lack the femoral spines. I don't understand, using Evans "Beetles of Western North America"

except for the lack of spines, I see very little resemblance to the picture of Coelocnemis dilaticollis, the body is not smooth, as it is in my apparently misidentified

beetle. Maybe that's the variability described, my beetle is on the large side of his dilaticollis description. Perhaps I'll change substrate and see what

happens.

Those kinds of field guides often have errors when it comes to these more obscure species/genera sad to say... And I'm not positive the species in Evan's field guide even is ID'd correctly. See Bugguide for more accurately identified specimens of that species.

Also, Coelocnemis do have some variability when it comes to exoskeleton texture and sometimes shape too, it's theorized that some species closely seem to mimic the appearance of the Eleodes spp. most prevalent in their area for some reason.

 

[kevink]

I'll continue pursuing this. Evans book a "field guide" ? I see it as more of a shelf book...it's a little thick for my pockets. I see issues with  many pictures

in any guide book, be it flowers, mushrooms, or  what ever, one picture of one specimen can't cover all the variables, including photographic methods.

Ok, I used the search engine, and C. dilaticollis pictures I found look more like my beetle than the one in Evan's book, what goes on there,

I don't know. Apparently these beetles can live up to 3 years. I looked at everything but wikipedia, if you've ever donated to wikipedia,

you already know why I no longer use their site for anything.

Thanks for your guidance Hisserdude!

 

[kevink]

Replying to this dinosaur topic is easier than taking another picture of the STILL LIVING beetle. Yep. still going, and what it's been eating  is a mystery,

it's got a little habitat with bark, moss, forest detritus, and I mist several times a week. I have to keep an eye on him, I lost my grig cricket to ants a few months

ago, or it expired and I didn't notice before the ants did, in any event, a closer eye prevails.