Valgus hemipterus or Brown fleck beetle

From Ukraine or Madagascar

comments (7)

Christine Young

Lion

Valgus hemipterus? Posted 3 years ago
1. William Bodine
  
  Lion
  
  Yes. Good match. You called it. How did you know where to begin? Posted 3 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Great! I thought it looked like a scarab beetle, so I searched through the species in the family Scarabaeidae on iNat, but limited the search to only include species found in the Ukraine ( I figured there would be fewer in Ukraine than Madagascar and thus easier to start there). There were only 70+ species and this one was near the top, lol. I got lucky. ;) Posted 3 years ago
  2. 1. William Bodine
      
      Lion
      
      Thanks for the tip. I'll start trying iNat more. I didn't equate it to the scarab family. Posted 3 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        You're welcome...The chunky, robust body and oval/oblong shape plus the sturdy legs gave me a clue to look at scarabs. I use iNat quite a bit to narrow down IDs because you can limit it by location, which is so helpful.
        
        Also, for beetles, I have an awesome book that I use (Beetles of Eastern North America by Arthur Evans). There is a western version now available as well:
        
        https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691164281/beetles-of-western-north-america
        
        The book is amazing because it goes over anatomy and also you can scroll through the families to see the characteristics of each along with photos of common species. Posted 3 years ago
      2. William Bodine
        
        Lion
        
        I really like coleoptera as one of my favorite families. Thanks for the book reference. I see a gift coming my way from one of my kids. Posted 3 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        I agree! Beetles are among my favorites. They are amazing creatures.
        
        And, you're welcome...hehe, my husband gave me the book a few years ago. It was an ideal gift for a beetle lover. <3 Posted 3 years ago