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Glowworm beetle

Zarhipis truncaticeps

Description:

Male beetle attracted to stage lights. 1 cm total length

Habitat:

Colorado Desert 3000', Ceosote/ black brush scrub

1 Species ID Suggestions

glowworm beetle
Zarhipis sp.


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3 Comments

Robb Hannawacker
Robb Hannawacker 9 years ago

I regret that this crappy cropped-in iPhone shot is all I got on this guy. I was in a hustle to begin an evening program at the Cottonwood Campground. Thank you for the pointing out the likelihood that the beetle may be a unique find. Earlier that day, I photoed 3 Mallow Scrub-Hairstreaks (Strymon istapa) for our annual butterfly count. It was a first sighting with the national park.

kueda
kueda 9 years ago

I don't suppose you got a shot with the wings open or a shot of the head, did you? Evans and Hogue describe Z. truncaticeps as having a black abdomen from above and brown (not orange) areas around the mouthparts. As far as I can tell there aren't any pics of Z. truncaticeps on the web, so if this is what it is it would be a cool contribution. Given the range desc. in Evans and Hogue I think this could be either.

MichaelGeiser
MichaelGeiser 10 years ago

Most likely Zarhipis truncaticeps Fall, 1923, which is quite a nice find!

There is a closely related and more commonly found species, Zarhipis integripennis (the "western banded glowworm"). This looks very similar, but is supposedly not found in the Colorado Desert, where only Z. truncaticeps has been recorded.

Robb Hannawacker
Spotted by
Robb Hannawacker

Indio, California, USA

Spotted on Mar 29, 2014
Submitted on Mar 30, 2014

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