Massive Darkling

[Dynastes]

Although we have some very nice, large darking species in the USA, they aren't in the ballpark.

 

[Peter Clausen]

Do you have any taxonomic details on that tenebrionid?

The brown areas...substrate traces or part of the beetle?

We have some smallish, rounded darklings up here in the Pacific NW that are pretty neat.

 

[Dynastes]

It's dirt, but it's only where there are also long, dense setae. How about some pictures of your local darklings?

 

[Peter Clausen]

I've only had them once. When I received them from a local friend, I believe all but one was dead. The last one died a month or two ago. I'll pull them out of the freezer and snap a photo this weekend if they aren't buried too deep. Come to think of it, I have received instructions from my wife that it's past time for me to consolidate some of the containers piling up in that spare garage freezer. Maybe I'll plug in my old upright freezer and just transfer everything....hmmm....

 

[Dynastes]

There's actually a bit of history on that giant darkling, it's also known as the radiant-sun beetle and was one of the main beetles in Egyptian funeral mythology 5000-7000 years ago.