Odontotaenius disjunctus
Drees, Texas A&M University Department of Entomology
The Patent-leather Beetle
is a large beetle which can grow to just over an
inch-and-a-half long. They are shiny black and have many
long grooves on their elytra
(outer wings). They have a small horn
between their eyes, and clubbed attenae
(means they have little knobs on them). Patent-leather Beetles
are usually found under, or inside, old logs or stumps. They
eat old decaying
wood. These beetles make
tunnels in the wood, called "galleries." Department of Entomology
and Nematology, University of Florida. Photographer: James
L. Castner Copyright, Randy Emmitt,
www.rlephoto.com Copyright, John C.
Abbot
Inside the galleries, the
beetles will mate, lay eggs, and raise their young.
Larvae
hatch from the eggs; they look like white grubs. The
adults
feed the larvae a chewed-up mixture of wood chips and feces
(poop). The larvae cannot feed themselves. Patent-leather Beetle
larvae take a year to develop. When the larvae are ready,
they become pupae
(like coccoons). Adults hatch from the pupa. Many Paten-leather
Beetles may live together in a colony
in the same log. Adults can live over a year. Adult Patent-leather
Beetles can make a sound by rubbing their wings on their
abdomen.
They may do this to communicate danger to other
beetles. Patent-leather beetles
like to eat logs of certain trees. Mostly they eat
deciduous
trees (ones where the leaves fall off in the fall), such as
oaks and elm. Copyright, Dr. John A.
Haarstad
