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Photo#320625
Beetle With Jaws - Sandalus petrophya - female

Beetle With Jaws - Sandalus petrophya - Female
Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
August 15, 2009
Size: 1.7 cm
Jaws from the front.

Images of this individual: tag all
Beetle With Jaws - Sandalus petrophya - female Beetle With Jaws - Sandalus petrophya - female Beetle With Jaws - Sandalus petrophya - female Beetle With Jaws - Sandalus petrophya - female

Moved
Moved from Sandalus niger.

 
Pronotum transverse
The combination of an early collection date and a relatively transverse pronotum supports this as being S. petrophyta

Moved
Moved from Beetles.

 
Cool
I didn't know there was such a thing - thanks!

 
cool indeed
i've never seen one alive

 
Northeast/Appalachian area in late summer
I saw a couple of these in early-to-mid September of each of the two years I lived in Pittsburgh, PA.

[EDIT] Now that I think about it, the ones in Pittsburgh were probably S. niger, not S. petrophya.

 
Sandalus petrophya
Based on the small antenna, this is a female. Female niger are always black (I think). I had a Sandalid beetle this same size and color and showed it to Dr. T.J. Spillman at the Smithsonian and he keyed it out to Sandalus petrophya. I remember he had a large series of petrophya and they tended to be a bit smaller and less robust than niger (this was 1984 so I'm a bit vague on the details). Over the years I've seen petrophya five times in Maryland but niger only once in West Virginia. (Niger may tend to be more mid-western in distribution than petrophya?)

 
Very interesting
Thanks for the information and details.

Do you bring insects to the Smithsonian often? Do the folks there enjoy it, or is it a bother? I'm right over in Alexandria, so it would be relatively easy. I've wondered about doing that, but don't even know how to go about it. And I'm only a hobbyist, so it's only for my own curiosity, and that doesn't seem important enough to bother the folks there if it's not something that's fun for them.

Looks like we need a petrophya page!

 
smithsonian
That depends. they aren't an extension service and the last thing they would want is people lining up outside with bug ID requests (I would stick to bugguide and your local state college or agriculture department for stuff like that). However, in my experience they are very friendly and helpful for advanced amateurs with specific questions. For example, if you wanted to post a series of morphologic photos on bugguide to help distinguish petrophya from niger or something similar to that, then a visit there could be very fun and educational for you.

 
Thanks!
That's what I kind of figured, about just bothering them, but that's a good thought about specific questions. I'll keep that in mind. =)

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