dobster

Hello yer crazy baystids!

I've had a couple of these bugs in my flat (apartment) recently and would be dead grateful if someone could tell me what they are. He is about 1 inch long (2.5 cm), he flies and is a bit grumpy.

Is he friendly or should I be wary? I live in Surrey, U.K.

Well, thanks in advance!

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Elphaba

Oh my gawd. I've never seen one of these before, but I'm pretty certain that you want them GONE.

raeanna74

My first thought is a June beetle but I thought they were more black.

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Siege

While I agree with the 2nd poster, I must say that that is an excellent photograph of the insect. How did you manage to take it?

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Ishmal

i was quiet impressed with the photography myself!

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Tophat665

That's, unless I am completely off base, a cockchafer.
(Y'all go off and have a Beavis and Butthead moment. I'll wait.)

It's a kind of scarab, like a June Bug or a Japanese beetle or a Dung Beetle for that matter. Unless yu have rose bushes in your apartment, the only problem is the ick factor when one lands on you when you're not expecting it. (Arrgh! skin crawling thinking about it.)

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raeanna74

Perhaps this can help narrow it down. The descriptions of this particular Family of beetles sounds correct for your fellow. Though there are apparently about 20,000 possibilities yet. I think it would be safe to say he's probably not a threat to you unless you have some exotic plants. The thing that would concern me is if this critter's favorite food was another kind of insect. You wouldn't find him there for long if you did not have food for him.

Very nice photography, btw. What is it that the critter is standing on? Paper?

http://eny3005.ifas.ufl.edu/lab1/Col...Scarabaeid.htm
or
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Glaresi...carabaeiformia

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fhqwhgads

Dear god, warn someone before you post something like that.... my mouth was open and everything.

ngdawg

Ugly, but I kinda like that fur....
You do realize that bugs never travel alone...where there's one, there's going to be more.

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Destrox

THe size you're saying is what's throwing me off. 1 inch long? That is just massive, I've never seen a beetle that large before unless it was in a zoo glass showcase....

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Elphaba

June bugs in Washington are at least an inch long. Ewwww....

dobster

Will tell more soon, but here's another of him:

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divagrrrl

with your permission I will email those pics to my uncle. He is an entomolgist with Orkin Pest Control.

DazednConfused

That is a cool looking insect. I will show this to my husband and see what he says about it. He's an entomologist, and I'm sure he would love to see this this neat little fellow anyway.

DazednConfused

Hubby says that it is a species of scarab beetle. He says it won't eat much.

jwoody

Send a copy of the photo to the pest control dept. of your local council. They should be able to sort you out.

Nice photography, though.

dobster

Hey Guys, thanks for all your photo complements, wasn't expecting that at all .
I took them with my Nikon Coolpix 4800 on macro.

Whoever wants to forward the pictures of course has my permission. I'd be very grateful for the help.

He seems to be a sort of Scarab beatle, then. if we could tie him down to a name as well, that'd be lovely.

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lindalove

I was forced to be brave far too early this morning, when I found a sucker just like this on my wall!




He was much too large to smash, would have definitely stained the wall (eeeww!) so I captured him under a wine glass, slid a piece of cardboard under the opening, and released him outside. that centipede was fast, too. It sprang to action a little too late, after I'd already gotten the glass over him.

I then spent a good five minutes online trying to find out what the heck it was. Turns out it was a house centipede.

What gross bugs have you encountered?

TexanAvenger

We have those around our dorm. We gave up trying to identify them and just call them Mary Foust bugs. Not that it'll pick up with people, but at least I know what they are. Thanks.

VitaminH

My apartment was infested with those buggers (hah!) when we moved in. I went on a killing spree the first few weeks and they pretty much disappeared. Either I got them all or word got around that there was a new sheriff in town and they headed for the hills.

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Grasshopper Green

AAAAARGH my eyes have been burned by the sight that is house centipedes! I hate those things!

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Zeraph

Bugs are cool

That is one of the furrier beetles I've seen.

Martian

That is definitely a common cockchafer. There is an almost identical specimen here.

What I've been able to determine is that they're harmless, if a bit alarming. They're known for being quite loud flyers (they buzz noticably) and very clumsy too. Does your furry friend have a habit of crashing into walls and the like?

If you're interested, they are indeed related to scarabs (as well as june bugs and some other common pests) and the adult form is pretty harmless.It's a leaf-eater, but generally goes after either oaks or conifurs, so unless you have one of those trees in your flat you should be alright. They only live a few weeks, so your infestation will be fairly short-lived.

The bad news is that if given a chance to mate, a female will lay around 80 eggs which will eventually hatch into the (much more destructive) grubs, although the full development cycle takes 4-5 years. They go after roots and underground vegetation and the preferred area for eggs is under loose soil in the vicinity of such a food source; if you have nothing of that nature around you should be okay.

The Wikipedia article.

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taboo

oh my god, i'm laughing from shock...

if one of those things flew towards me I would freak OUT.

MSD

hey Beavis, cockchafer
(heh heh heh)

You didn't have to tell me, I was going to do it anyway.