A Beetle a Day Keeps the Coleopterists at Bay

N. americanus is certainly an enigma amongst North American beetle species. It is the largest, and most boldly magnificent species of all.

It was once widespread across the country from the plains to the East coast states. And considered common enough to be put in Zim's golden guide book of insects; where it's picture is featured.

Yet, something happened during the decade of the 60s or 70s to bring about its rapid decline.

In my own humble opinion, I feel the two biggest factors in its demise was our over-use of pesticides/herbicides on our crops, lawns, parks, and gardens as well as our increased and (ceaseless) land development.

I recall well as a kid (who grew up in the 1960s) that DDT was in widespread use through most or all of that decade only finally being banned in the early 70s. Yet, since its use we have still continued to develop and refine chemicals of all sorts to control insect pests and invasive weeds. And all of it winds up getting windblown into the adjacent environments.

Perhaps, this gravedigger was a specialist (of a kind); however, its former wide range seems like it should have afforded it some measure of stability. Yet, here we are now with only four or five known (localized) populations.

I remember in the mid-1990s a curator at my museum where I worked told me there were only 2 known populations at that time !

Here are some photos of one of my favorite beetle species, Cicindela scutellaris! This is a fairly common species in upland sandy areas throughout much of North America where they vary widely by region, with many named subspecies. I have all the subspecies represented in my collection, but as I usually take photos of live individuals, I’ll just be posting photos of the varieties I have collected myself…

1. Cicindela scutellaris lecontei: This subspecies is found throughout the Midwest, and the one I grew up with in Wisconsin. Despite its comparatively dull coloration, it is one of the more variable subspecies, both in color and in the extent of the white markings. The third photo with expanded maculations coalesced to form a marginal band used to be a different subspecies, ssp. criddlei, which is found along the northwestern edge of the species’ range.




2. Cicindela s. scutellaris: Found throughout the Great Plains, characterized by a bright green/blue head and pronotum and red elytra. Second photo is of a unique form endemic to a single mountain range in Wyoming.



3. Cicindela s. unicolor: A blue/green subspecies found in the southeast, particularly common in Florida.


4. Cicindela. s. rugata: A blue/green subspecies very similar to unicolor, but found in eastern Texas and adjacent Arkansas.


5. Cicindela s. flavoviridis: A bicolored subspecies, with blue-green head and pronotum and yellow-green elytra. Found in north-central Texas:


6. Cicindela s. scutellaris x flavoviridis: Beetles throughout most of Oklahoma exhibit intermediate characteristics between the nominate subspecies and subspecies flavoviridis, resulting in some really beautiful beetles!


Just need to self-collect yampae (Moffat County, Colorado) and rugifrons (east coast pine barrens) and I’ve got them all!

Here are a few fun US beetles

Megacheuma brevipenne from Colorado


Elatotrypes hoferi from Colorado


Tragidion densiventre from Arizona


Stictoleptura canadensis from Colorado


Calloides nobilis from Utah


Neospondylis upiformis from Utah


Trichodes simulator from Utah


Alaus melanops from Wyoming

You have some wonderful rarely collected longhorns in the mix!  Nice...

Never get tired of looking at beetle pictures...nice photos!

Here are some of my Cetoniidae : www.world-cetoniidae.org/