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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Bostrichoidea » Carpet Beetles (Dermestidae) » Thorictini » Thylodrias » Odd Beetle (Thylodrias contractus)
Photo#98835
Beetle - Thylodrias contractus - male
Copyright © 2007 Brad Barnd

Beetle - Thylodrias contractus - Male
Tippecanoe County, Indiana, USA
March 18, 2007
Size: ~3 mm
Found on my desk.

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Beetle - Thylodrias contractus - male Beetle - Thylodrias contractus - male
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Contributed by Brad Barnd on 20 March, 2007 - 9:27am
Last updated 9 June, 2011 - 11:33pm

Wow!
Very good find indeed. I've seen drawings of them in with other family members and they just look completely out of place.
… Jim McClarin, 20 March, 2007 - 7:59pm login or register to post comments

credits! a new one for bugguide!
Hi Brad,
anybody said you have to leave home to make discoveries ;-)

This is a male Thylodrias contractus, a very unusual member of the carpet beetles (Dermestidae).
… Boris Büche, 20 March, 2007 - 10:04am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks Boris. It really is a
Thanks Boris. It really is an odd beetle.
… Brad Barnd, 20 March, 2007 - 4:08pm login or register to post comments

 
better than in your drawers
As you no doubt are located near a large collection of preserved insects, I was curious if this beetle shared the same bad habits as Dermestes. And sure enough, Downie and Arnett state that Thylodrias contractus is "a common pest of museum collections".

So I guess you could say 'better to have found this one on top of your desk, than in your drawers' :)
… Tim Moyer, 20 March, 2007 - 9:38pm login or register to post comments

 
Exactly
Yes, wouldn't want these in my collection. I actually found this in my lab office (in a building with mostly genetics labs) so I'm not sure where it came from. Maybe there are some dead bugs in the corner or windowsill.
… Brad Barnd, 20 March, 2007 - 10:33pm login or register to post comments

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