Apr 20
I got to see one of my favorite native beetles today, the horned passalus beetle (aka bess beetle)! I'm always so happy to come across these dudes. In the third image, you can see some phoretic mites which these beetles often have hitching a ride on them, but are harmless. Horned passalus beetles also have a neat defense mechanism where they will rub their wings under their elytra to make a soft hissing/squeaking noise, and even have other distinct noises they make to communicate with each other! They are such cool beetles.
