BG2440 E7279 - Scaptolenus Barney Farm, Hwy 103, 1 mi. NW Washington, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, USA October 17, 2009 Size: body length 19.8 mm.
This is a beetle, but that is as far as we got. We were unable to find a similar creature in any of our resources. It was collected at light by Linda Auld and kindly given to us for photography.
Further placement would be appreciated.
Gayle
Edit 10/26/09: Further cogitations after v belov IDed the specimen to genus.
From Factsheet & Map – Texas Entomology, the two Texas species that might occur in Louisiana are Scaptolenus lecontei and S. ocreatus. A third unnamed species is known from the Davis Mountains.
Based on my study of Horn (1881), I think our specimen is Scaptolenus lecontei. Horn reports the diagnostic features of S. lecontei as follows:
Last joint of maxillary palpus as long or longer than the preceding. On our specimen the last joint is about 10 percent longer than the preceding.
Elytra rather deeply sulcate (grooved or furrowed) and subcostulate (?). Our specimen appears to have furrowed elytra.
Length of L. lecontei is listed as16-18 mm. Our specimen is 19.6 mm.
Features of L. ocreatus and L. estriatus: Last joint of maxillary palpus very decidedly shorter than the preceding. Body length of both listed as 14 mm.
If our specimen is a female, things are a bit more complicated. According to BugGuide Info, females of the genus Scaptolenus are unknown; therefore keys and descriptions would apparently be valid for males only.
I look forward to further comments!
Gayle
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