Blue Death feigning beetles have Galea?

[Stag Beetles]

Do death feigning beetles have a galea?

 

[Stag Beetles]

Galea is usually referred to in stag beetles (like Lucanus sp.), but can they be the term to describe the brush like projections on Blues too?

[Anacimas]

Do death feigning beetles have a galea?

 

I'd wager that they do but can't prove it with a specific, authoritative cite. Many beetles, including Tenebs with similar lifestyles, bear galea as integral components of their maxillae.

[Stag Beetles]

ok, thank you, Anacimas!

[Anacimas]

ok, thank you, Anacimas!

You're welcome! The definitive answer is probably squirreled away on some dust-covered shelf of entomological dissertations. Good luck finding it!

[Stag Beetles]

You're welcome! The definitive answer is probably squirreled away on some dust-covered shelf of entomological dissertations. Good luck finding it!

Lol, I might when I get older!

[AlexW]

Stag Beetles:

 

I agree with Anacimas.

 

Our hobby is based upon assumptions and guesswork, but some guesses are safer than others.

 

 

Asbolus verrucosus​ almost certainly has a galea, going off of what Anacimas said.

 

Tenebrionid beetles have "basic" chewing mouthparts, and if it is true that other closely related tenebs have a galea (I really need to brush up on my mouthpart anatomy), Asbolus ​has it too. After all, it is highly improbable that a close relative (random example: Asbolus laevis)​ has a galea and verrucosus doesn't, because they have similar lifestyles.

 

Even round burrowing tenebs, pie dish tenebs, and giant headstander tenebs do well on similar diets, and in captivity the adults' other care requirements are also quite similar.