Beetles Among Us

Thankfully the stinky beetles that were invading our house this fall have become scarce (though they have been replaced for now in the household insect pest department by Argentine ants). I never did take one into the Bohart Museum of Entomology for positive identification, but my best guess is that they are Nomius pygmaeus, based on appearance and that this species has been described as a stinky occasional household pest.

Happily, would-be California coleopterists have two new resources to call upon. The first is the website of the California Beetle Project at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. This is an online checklist and database describing the more than 7500 species of beetles in California. The second is that UC Press has just published the Field Guide to Beetles of California. I haven’t seen this book yet but judging by the many others in the California Natural History Guide series it should be very good.