Darkling pics at last

AlexW said:
I will explain the situation later.

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What kind of species are those? I once got three Esuattus difficilis (I think that's how you spell it) from White Sands monu. and these kinda remind me of them

 
The shinier one is my longtime pet Coniontis. I had it since summer.

The dull one is a new arrival which I have little idea about.

And since Coniontis and Eusattus are both in the Coniontini, they are close relatives and obviously show the resemblance.

 
AlexW said:
The shinier one is my longtime pet Coniontis. I had it since summer.

The dull one is a new arrival which I have little idea about.

And since Coniontis and Eusattus are both in the Coniontini, they are close relatives and obviously show the resemblance.
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Wait, did you find it in a desert like place?

 
Stag Beetles said:
Wait, did you find it in a desert like place?
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Tribe Coniontini:
Coelus and Eusattus: dune specialists

Conisattus: Based on this, inhabits semiarid areas

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Norman_Woodley/publication/233676158_Diets_of_Darkling_Beetles_Coleoptera_Tenebrionidae_Within_a_Shrub-Steppe_Ecosystem/links/54b7d37a0cf269d8cbf54b1d/Diets-of-Darkling-Beetles-Coleoptera-Tenebrionidae-Within-a-Shrub-Steppe-Ecosystem.pdf

Coniontis: According to the Kaufman guide to insects and maybe a CA Evans guide, also inhabits semiarid places, but NOT arid deserts

So...

Where did I find my current coniontis, you ask?

Dangling helplessly from an old web...

in the middle of Los Angeles.

https://sp-uns.blogspot.com/2017/08/cs-11-i-find-coniontis-sp.html

(do read the comments, they are useful)

 
Stag Beetles said:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pnwA2lhw8heRXjD8F5CA7pEimJwx-oCSFrK8-5bmd7xo_EhyClti4qGJZVvR_OOtdrr6x5T6iOiBfg29S5tpFrpD22Yk0g2jXb5V7u9pjNeK-a7YAM2M_RrZmT6y7Yflm9kh2pSd

I have not gotten confirmation on this, but I think this is Esuattus difficilis (correct me if I'm wrong).
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Eusattus, yes. E.difficilis, possibly, I can't rule out all of the other species though, there are 4 I can not locate pictures of. Try getting some good dorsal shots and upload them to Bugguide.net, along with precise locality information. They may be able to ID it further for you!
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Indeed, I like my new matte darkling just as much as the Coniontis. At times, it is like a walking shadow...

 
Second update: I get featured again on whatsthatbug, see above link

I will be updating the blog link regularly, so do check it often in the future

 
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