Sunday, December 6, 2009

Bess Beetle: Horned Passalus (Odontotaenius disjunctus)

This post was submitted to An Inordinate Fondness #2. Visit Birder's Lounge to learn more about beetles.

This Horned Passalus was making its way very slowly and gracefully over a fallen tree branch by the path just opposite the pool. The temperature was about 45 F which probably explains why it was moving so slowly. It had lost one antenna. When I picked it up to photograph the remaining antenna, it doggedly continued its steady pace across my hand. When I placed it back on the log, it simply moved on to the leaf litter as if nothing had happened.


The beetle…

The antenna…
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
- Bug Guide: Horned Passalus (Odontotaenius disjunctus) [Beetle] [Antenna]

Related posts:
- Woods in the Fall

2 comments:

ramblingwoods said...

I am not a microbiologist..don't think I could have made it through all the science after I led a high school protest against dissecting frogs..I'm a retired special education teacher but very interested in what goes on in my yard and to my delight, there is always something... My low tech COS

Autumn Meadowhawks Mating.

Joy K. said...

I think I've also seen these common-named "patent-leather beetles."