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Project Noah Nature School
Tenebrionidae fam.
15-20 mm. Quite slow in the movements. I made them climp up on a small stone, and they sat there wery nicely without any intentions to leave.
On a trail on the ground, parttly hidden under a rock. (Trail to waterfall caves, Mlawula Nature Reserve)
This beetle just looks ancient to me. I dont even know in what family to put it. Oil beetle with a helmet? :D
Thank you for your comments EnvUnlimited and RiekoS.
Sintija. I missed the eclipse, but thanks a lot for the faschinating information.
I go to Swaziland every now and then. It is a beautiful country and only 1,5 hours drive from Maputo, Mozambique. It is my weekend escape :)
Tiz, are you now in Swaziland? :)
judging by the map here (http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials...)
tomorrow you will be able to see at least something of the Hybrid Solar eclipse :)) Don't forget to take a photo of some great animals who will be enjoying the eclipse :D :)
Oh, it was you who transported them for small stones? So I can suggest a speech bubble: - What is happening, joshua? - I do not know, just stand still and smile;
Sckel, I placed them on the stones, and they liked them! They were very slow in reaction and movement... Good models in other words.
This thread is a great example of when community cooperation can lead to an ID. Thank you to all of your contributions! I will add the common and scientific family name, but I will keep it as unidentified for a little while longer...
Agree with Lauren. Darklingbeetle (Tenebrionidae)
Something similar to this: http://www.ispot.org.za/node/194902?nav=...
They look like Tenebrionids to me. They are gorgeous! And do look really prehistoric!
Adorable siblings beetles. Each chooses his stone to better see the events. I had never seen these, thanks for sharing.
Thanks to both of you, I found this http://www.beetlesofafrica.com/beetle_de...
I dont think it is the one, but closer for sure!
Thanks!
And thank you Ingrid for the comment, I agree that there are some similareties to some of the tenebrionid beetles. Perhaps this is a clue :)
Thank you Arya. It is just that I dont have any references when it comes to this beetle. The body shape perhaps an oil beetle? But the jaws reminds me of a Longhorn beetle (without longhorns haha) So it probably is something completely different to all of this. Living on the ground.. Hmm, a dung beetle? But it does not look like a scarab at all...
What a adorable face! There are tenebrionid bettles i saw in a SW American desert that look similar.
Spotted on Oct 27, 2013
Submitted on Oct 28, 2013
