Ant Headed Black Beetle-ish Bug

Another resident at the Luck Cabin! I love inside bugs during the winter because outside I just don't see them anymore - the ground here is frozen now, like the mud has become a brown hard glacier.
I have this black bug buddy crawling up my walls and sneaking behind things to stay warm a few times but had not had the chance to get close up....

but once I did, i was really baffled by all the bugs this one insect represented... beetle in it's movement, ant faced, bee segmented belly, tiny wings (faux or not?) , grasshopper legs!

WHat Is IT?

This buggie is also rather large! It is not the size of an ant... it's a bit of a beast. The kind of bug that would make my mom freak out and call for help. (My mom once called the police when a snake was in her yard!)

It even walked straight up to my cat Toots and tried to start a fight with her. She kept backing her face away from it.

Xoxoxo

Fuzzy, Hairy, Gold Brown and Black Beetle

Somebody's got their winter coat on!
This beetle was milling around inside my cabin, and showed up just in time. Yesterday morning i was pouting about how all the bugs go away in the cold, and I love all the non-blood sucking ones so much I hate to see them go. I never thought about a bug that was season transitional like this one...
AKA, i don't remember ever seeing a beetle with a little furry coat on? Have you?
Animals grow in their winter fur, so why not beetles too?

I love the muted but contrasty colors in monotones of brown, black and a golden shine.

Can any of my fabulous astute readers identify this beetle? Maybe find out if it comes out specifically in the chilly cold?

This beetle was so relaxed, it didnt even care that the GOOGley EyEs of GAWD were watching it!!!

BEHIND THE BUG SCENES:::::

um, yes... This is what I look like when I get down on the ground and move up toward the bugs I take pictures of. Also when I come after them with googley eyes (or gumby). (The Beetle is in the front foreground of the pic below, partly cut out... the dark brown dot at the middle front edge.)

xoxoxoxo

(Dead) Flesh Eating Beetle

I was walking toward the front door of my cabin when I saw a rock move... like the rock was actually crawling. When I got closer I smelled the wiff of sick decay and saw a dead rotted mouse part way under the rock, pushing the rock to the side revealed a host of bugs - what I like to call the 'clean up crew'. One beetle really stood out and that is because it does not have the typical appearance of a dead animal eater... like maggots or other tiny parasites - instead it is a striking colorful beetle with orange and black wings and spiral shaped antenna.

The beetle is known as the American Burying Beetle, and is so large that on/inside this lil' dead mouse they almost made it look at though it was still alive, as if the mouse was their puppet -it's dead carcass squirmed and crawled.

**

Here are some cool science facts about this flesh eatin' beetle::::
**These carrion beetles eat dead animals—mice, birds or other creatures. Using organs located on the tips of their antennae, the beetles can smell dead animal carcasses from far away. They fly to the carrion, prepare it and lay eggs nearby. The carrion is later consumed by the beetles’ larvae.
**Federally listed as Endangered.
**It is one of the few beetles in which both parents care for the young. It is also useful to study its response to a changing ecosystem.
**These scavengers perform a valuable if not glorious service to the natural community by burying dead animals and then consuming them.

(Read More HERE.)

I have seen the Burying Beetle eat cat food, and rest on top old toad stool mushrooms too. :)

Xoxoxox

Female Rhinoceros Beetle? Help Me ID this bug!

Last year I had the awesome opportunity to see a male rhino beetle when Bort literally paid a few $bucks$ to some girls at a grocery store who were holding the strange giant bug in a cup and giggling around it at the check out counter. (I gotta say this might be one of the top most thoughtful/romantic gifts given to me in my life!) ;)
Well, after bringing that BIG huge HORNED bad boy into the house suddenly another beetle appeared ... one that was without horn but was quite large and similar coloring. The male had called in tha' ladies!

Last night, I found a beetle in the Luck Cabin crawling on the floor, a beetle that reminded me of the female rhino beetle from last summer! It looks very similar, if not exactly alike - but I am having a hard time finding a positive ID on this buggie online (ya know cause the internet is saturated with info now to the point of insanity!)

WHat do ya'll think? Will she attract a big horned monster into my presence? I could only hope.

BTW :::: Fun fact about the Rhino Beetle is it will eat fruit and maple syrup! And you can keep them as "pets".

XOXOxoox

Identity Crisis: Who is this Black and White Beetle?

Meet Mr. Rodeo! This little beetle just kinda appeared in my organic garden- although nothing is really growing yet I wondered if Mr. Rodeo was a beneficial, neutral or an organic garden eatin' bug?

I call him Mr. Rodeo because of his chiseled, hammered, gorgeous black and white pattern on his back that reminds me of fancy leather cowboy boots. Underneath his armor were some red-ish tinted wings. He wasn't too shy, too fast, or sketchy - in fact Mr. Rodeo was easy going, slow and seemed like maybe he wasn't in any rush to protect himself from predators - but maybe that's cause most critters won't eat a beetle in these striking and poisonous looking colors?
Can any of ya'll help me identify this pretty lil' guy?
Xoxo

Black and Yellow Striped Beetles Mating On Goldenrod

If I was a beetle and was looking for a romantic spot to procreate, I would be totally easily woo'd nestled in a bouquet of goldenrod. The top pic was their courtship I believe, a sort of chilling on top each other before actually doing what they came together for. It would seem the smaller insect is the male, who is on top and the female on the bottom - since you can see in the pic below, that the one on top does the inserting of buggie magic - if fact I could see when they pulled apart again there was a little bit of clear goo. Neato!
Can anyone name these lovers and share what their ecological purpose might be?

XoXoooo

Name This (Big & Imposing) Beetle

This is the kind of insect that inspires artists like Jim Henson to create amazing creatures for their movies, like The Dark Crystal. This beetle sort of appeared in my bedroom with a sudden thud on the floor... it was so HUGE laying there on it's back, I didn't hesitate to pick it up and place him on wooden clothes pin to get a better look. And Holy Toodles, this beetle not only is amazing to look at (stripes, armour, built like a tank) but it's packed with personality too! If the county would allow him to do so, he would totally apply for his own library card.

Welcome to Beetle Theatre, where tonight's topic is: Why Does this Human Not Leave Me Alone? ;)

.... I promise that he's not on a broadway stage, it's just my bath towel, a clothespin and lamp.

What a fantastic, outrageous, expressive face it has - in this very last picture he was feeling timid and afraid because my cat was being her instinctual poohead self and gave him a little slap. He recoiled in a way I have never seen an insect quite do, it was very animal and awesome.

XoXoooo

June Bug?!

I have only seen this wildly green beetle since living in the smokey mountains, the first time being 6 years ago in a cemetery by the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have heard people call them "june bugs" although the june bugs I experienced growing up in New Orleans were tiny and all brown (but in New Orleans everything is different "roley poley bugs" are called "doodle bugs".) I wanted to share this big guy with ya'll, pictured here crawling on my neighbor Heather's hand- and ask this:
Are they native to North Carolina?
I heart this bug!