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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#200934
ID needed - Blapstinus fortis

ID needed - Blapstinus fortis
Duval County, Florida, USA
July 11, 2008
On July 11, 2008 I saw these climbing up the outside of my house. They must have come out of the red cedar mulch I put down May 18th because they weren't anywhere else. Very tiny. They kept climbing, I kept hosing them off, & they kept climbing back up. I also sprayed them with some 'safe' bug killer but they still climbed back up the wall. I felt like I was in a Sci-fi movie! I uploaded a pic of the wall so you see how tiny they were. Now they are all gone. Somebody suggested the eggs were in the mulch. Would it take almost 2 months for them to hatch?

Moved
Moved from Beetles.

Moved
Moved from Frass.

Frassed
Moved from Beetles. Got caught when I frassed the other 2.

Harmless.
This insect is a "darkling beetle" in the family Tenebrionidae. Might have been around all along, regardless of the mulch. Few species in the family are pests, and I don't recognize this as being one of them. Do stay tuned for input from other entomologists there in Florida who monitor this website.

 
Almost certainly...
Blapstinus fortis LeConte. Native, very common, and perhaps driven from the soil by the very heavy rains.

 
Re: Harmless
Thank you Eric for your ID. They still haven't come back, thank goodness. Thanks again!! I don't know why I didn't think to come here sooner. I can always count on this website for info.