Beetle Trade

I recently did a beetle trade through the mail with another beetle collector, based in British Columbia.
Here are the insects I gave:

And... here is what I received! 

So I went into the woods today and caught some cool stuff. 

Centipedes

Longhorn beetle larvae

Stag beetle larvae

Galerita bicolor

I found these cool ground beetles the other day inside a rotting log. Some of them are over 20mm in size. They are quite amazing beetles. Just be aware, when handling, that they can spray harsh chemicals for defensive purposes (You will probably end up feeling a little sick if you inhale the foul chemicals for too long like I did). They are false Bombardier beetles so they may resemble Bombardier beetles, but they are far larger and elongated in structure. Here is what the Galerita bicolor looks like:

Upstate of S.C. beetles you can find from Winter-Spring easily

There are many ground beetles, longhorns, and even STAG BEETLES you can find over winter and spring by looking under logs. Here are some of the common local ones I tend to come across the most and am fascinated by:

Dorcus brevis 

Dorcus brevis is a mysterious species. Not much is known about these guys. They are very rare but I have  found a couple of them in my woods. One thing I have noticed about them so far is they are ALWAYS in pairs... but it tends to be two males and not a male and a female... which puzzles me. Why would two male stag beetles always live within two feet of each other and in the same log? I am yet to find a female of this wonderful beetle. They are slightly smaller then the related and more common, Dorcus parallelus. 

Size: 15-18mm

Odontotaenius disjunctus

Odontotanius disjunctus (the Bess Beetle) is a relatively common beetle in the US and feeds on the rotton logs of hardwood trees such as oaks. They can be found in "colonies" within one log, holding up to 100 Bess Beetles (though one often only finds 3-15 specimens in one log). They are often found amongst the larvae of Lucanus and Platycerus spp.

Size: 30-40mm (EXTREME specimens only exceed 38mm)

Platycerus virescens 

A quite unassuming beetle. If seen by the untrained eye from a distance, it can be mistaken for a ground beetle... but these are no ground beetles! These are miniature stag beetles. These little guys can fit on your finger tip and many ground beetles exceed them in size. They feed of of rotting hardwood and if you find one... you find twenty! They tend to live together (though sometimes you might find a lone pair or something like that).  They are a pretty quiet, hidden species, being abundant, yet not often seen. They rarely come out of their logs and if you are to take them out they take a while to adjust and don't move for about twenty minutes. 

Size: 7-12 mm 

Stag Beetle Larvae

So I'm raising a few stag beele larvae (probably lucanus spp. L2 larvae)

Here are some pictures:

(many live insects)

(Larvae up close)

(many larvae)

(An individual larvae)

(A handful of larvae)

Hello World!

Hello guys. I created this blog for all of you nerds out there seeking more knowledge in the area of arthropods. Specifically insects. I have been collecting insects since I was but six years old (making it ten years so far!). I hope to keep up with this blog by posting updates as often as possible. "What's the purpose of this blog?" you might ask. Well... it's to reveal the unknown facts and recent discoveries about insects to knowledge craving enthusiasts (and nerds) like me. I really don't know what to say in this sort of introduction post... but... here are some of my main insect related interests:

Lucanids (Stag beetles)

Dynastids (Rhino beetles)

Mantids 

Carabids (Ground beetles)

And yeah lots of other stuff including Cicadas, Katydids, Longhorns, Weevils, etc.