CLOSED: Big old bad-butt beetle

What is this huge thing? Glad it was dead when I saw it and not crawling on me!

Don't know what it is, but it gives me the willeys just thinking about it getting on me!!

BTW, that's my thumb, not some (relatively) skinny little finger there!

if not mistaken, i think it is a water bug. they frequent areas close to water source. they multiply fast too!

Well, he probably was washed out of the shallow container in which I have some bog plants sitting. I dumped some water when scooting it over with my foot and had to refill it. Big thing, isn't it?!

they sure are. bugs gives me the creeps, Yikes!!! check this url ... http://www.zoo.org/educate/fact_sheets/waterbug/waterbug.htm , http://www.insects.org/entophiles/hemiptera/hemi_005.html

Oh, you know, I don't think that's what this late fellow was. He was definitely some type of beetle, and though my picture of his top doesn't show his head very well, he had kind of chunky antennae.

bug's i hate and not too familiar with them or their names. the only reason why i knew about the water bug was there are some around here. maybe someone can identify them for u. good luck!

Looks like one of a family of beetles, some of which live in water - Hydrophilidae - described as having short, clubbed antennae.
The other possibility is one of the dung beetles. Difficult to say without seeing in the flesh, but that might be tricky..........
:)

Maybe a June Beetle? http://www.pma.edmonton.ab.ca/cgi-bin/bugsfaq.cgi?menu=catrplrs.mnu&topic=junebt.dbh Some years we'll have tons of them around here. I remember as a kid our screen door would be covered with them I would scream bloody murder when they flew in the house.

poppysue's got it-
definately Scarabaeidae (scarabs, chafers, etc.), subfamily Melolonthinae (June beetles), and most likely a Phyllophaga judging by the color. That means white grubs, which can destroy the roots of your plants...

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/field/white_grub.htm

But this guy is way bigger than the June bugs we normally get, though, and with a longer body. Same family, though?

This message was edited Sunday, Jul 14th 3:40 PM

All I can say without actually examining mouth parts, antennae, genitalia, etc. is... probably maybe ;-)

About 120 species of Phyllophaga in N. America according to White (Peterson's Field Guides, The Beetles of N. America, 1983), so that could be one of them. Then again...

gardenwife - do you have a USDA office or a Natural History Museum nearby? Since Phyllophaga are an economic threat, they might actually be glad to id it for you - especially if it's not a common species (maybe it's one of those range-expanding critters that gets agriculture people nervous) Back in the late 60's, when I was in my boyhood bug phase, I actually got a visit from a USDA inspector after I showed my Japanese beetle (!!!) collection to my Natural History Museum Summer School Program instructor. Got to drive around in a government jeep one afternoon showing him where the infestations were. Hehehe - what a blast for a fifth grader! I also did some volunteer trapping work for the state in the Bay area in the late70's/early 80's when the Medfly hit town, and appreciation was very forthcoming. Entomologists are usually very nice people (not at all like the dorky stereotypes in the movies) who are more than happy to help when someone takes an interest in their speciality. Certainly most people don't...

We've always called them Water Bugs. They are a type of beetle.

The June bugs here are about an inch long and half an inch wide. It's bigger than that?

Sure is! It was a good inch long, at least. Maybe a bit longer, counting its head, which is folded down in these pictures.