- Most Bess Beetles look about the same. Male and female of Bees Beetles also look about the same. They are shiny, either black or dark brown in colours with body parallel-sided. Wing-covers have parallel grooves along. There is a narrow waist between prothorax and elytra, scutellum is not visible.
- Adult beetles and larvae are usually found in group living in chamber within rotten wood. They make stridulation noise when disturbed. Both adults and larvae feed on rotten wood. Larvae look similar to Scarab larvae, are grub-liked but not in c-shaped, always live in concealed habitats, sluggish, cylindrical, with a well-developed head.
Bess Beetles - Family Passalidae
This page contains information and pictures about Bess Beetles in family Passalidae that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Black Bess Beetle
- Mastachilus sp., body length 40mm
- The Black Bess Beetle is shiny, black to dark brown in colours with parallel grooves on wing-covers. There is a small horn on its head. Please check this page for more information.
- Brown Bess Beetle
- Aulacocyclus sp., body length 30mm
- Brown Bess Beetles are shiny, dark brown to brown in colours with body parallel-sided. Wing-covers have parallel grooves along. There is a narrow waist between prothorax and elytra, scutellum is not visible. Please check this page for more information.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 627.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p226.
- 3. Passalidae - Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2008.
- 4. A Bit About Beetles In Brisbane - by Geoff Monteith, Save Our Waterways Now, 2008.
- 5. Passalidae - Insects of Townsville, Australia - Graeme Cocks
- 1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 627.
