Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#24622
Pendunculate Ground Beetle - Scarites subterraneus

Pendunculate Ground Beetle - Scarites subterraneus
Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
July 17, 2005
Size: ~15 mm
I've purchased a small habitat container from the local pet store to photograph insects (particularly beetles) who never sit still in the wild for a decent shot, and it seems to be working quite well.

I captured this fella running through the sparsely grassy areas under our deck. I am basing the ID on other photos in the guide, and "Peterson's Field Guide to Beetles" (1), p.88.

Images of this individual: tag all
Pendunculate Ground Beetle - Scarites subterraneus Portrait of a Pendunculate Ground Beetle - Scarites subterraneus

Scarites
It seems that I have a Scarites specimen as well but the jaws look different.

Request for use of your image
Dear Mr. DiTerlizzi,
We are two biology students participating in undergraduate research at Delaware Technical Community College. Our research focuses on determining the dietary habits of a maternity colony of big brown bats in South Eastern Pennsylvania. During the course of our research, we have found that their diet includes insects of the family Carabidae. We would like to request your permission to use your picture on our research poster for a preliminary presentation of our results.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Kaliopi Bousses, Liedeke Sweitzer

 
permission granted
shoot me an email and I'll send over a hi-res jpeg: studio@diterlizzi.com

 
The resolution of this image
The resolution of this image is fine! Thank you though! And thank you for giving us permission to use it!

pest in my house
I have been getting these beetles in my home for the last few days and they are big and scary looking.They crunch when you crush them and they have pinchers on the front of them.What are causing them and are they dangerous and how do I get rid of them.They are annoying to have in my home never had them before

Moved
Moved from Scarites. Fairly sure its subterraneus.

Moved
Moved from Scarites.

are they dangerous or distructive?
I caught on of these inside my house in PA. Are they dangerous or distructive? Is there most likely more around here? If you could help, I would appriciate.

 
very nice pic
I am pretty sure that they are not destructive and cannot bite very hard! and they make nice pets lol.

 
Information Regarding This Particular Beetle
On Thurs., 07/21/11, at 1:15 a.m. while pottying my dog, this beetle was buzzing and spinning in a clockwise direction right in front of me. I tried to avoid colliding with the beetle, but it struck me on the top left of my lip. I felt an intense stinging on my top lip and then an intense burning sensation for over an hour. I had to pinch my lip to keep the intense pain away. My top lip swelled (doubled in size), became red with a constant burning sensation, and extremely tender--similar to a third-degree burn. My lip severely blistered and is still tender to the touch. The blister has diminished, but a scar of dead tissue remains. To me, I would call this some sort of venom attack that the beetle would use against an opponent. I collected the beetle in a jar and took digital photos of it to try and identify it. (This photo is identical to the images I took.) I also took digital photos of my lip to take to my dermatologist so that he could suggest a treatment plan. As of today, Sun., 08/07/11, the skin on my lip feels tight but tender--like scarring from a severe burn. My top lip now becomes excessively dry with splotchy redness. I don't believe my top lip with every be the same.