bostrichid - Psoa maculata

Moved

Moved from Psoa quadrisignata. following advice given by Arthur Evans on iNaturalist.

"The pronotum is wider than long, coarsely punctate, and has broadly rounded lateral margins.
These characters, combined with the vittate elytral markings, are indicative of Psoa maculata."

the difference in density of punctures on pronotum is obvious.

… Boris Büche, 30 April, 2020 - 3:16pm

Evolution

Interesting how P. quadrisignata exhibits so much diversity in back color, considering this species can fly.

… Beetle boy77, 18 March, 2019 - 11:05pm

Moved

Moved from Horned Powder-post Beetles.

… Joyce Gross, 3 December, 2006 - 4:47pm

Psoa quadrisignata

After looking at the bostrichids in the UCB Essig collection, I found this to be Psoa quadrisignata. While most bostrichid species in the collection are dark brown, this species comes in a huge variety of colors (red, yellow, light brown, black) and patterns on the elytra. See this SBMNH photo for an example of the variation in this species. The UCB collection has 2 specimens that match mine exactly in terms of the pattern and color on the elytra. Both are from Monterey County. The other specimens of this species currently in the collection have other colors & patterns.

May 13 2018 edit: The above SBMNH URL no longer works. Try this one instead.

… Joyce Gross, 3 December, 2006 - 4:44pm

Moved

Moved from Checkered Beetles.

… Joyce Gross, 23 October, 2006 - 5:59pm

Bostrichid

Hey,

This clerid-like thing is actually a bostrichid. It's common in a variety of hardwood, including oak, laurel sumac, etc.

Cheers,
J

… Clerid, 23 October, 2006 - 5:08pm

Bostrichid

Thanks for the correction. That would explain why I couldn't find this in the Essig collection, in the clerids. Now I have to look in the bostrichids ... next week, when I next get a chance.

… Joyce Gross, 23 October, 2006 - 6:02pm