Black Nail Beetle - Repsimus manicatus
FAMILY SCARABAEIDAE
This page contains information and pictures about Black Nail Beetles that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 20mm
- The beetle is dark bluish with purplish brown pronotum. The beetle has immensely developed hind legs with large triangular tibiae. Larvae live in sandy soils along river banks
- We found two Black Nail Beetles on a Red Bottle Brush Plant Callistemon citrinus on early December. They were on the plant just next to the water of Bulimba Creek in Wishart Bushland. We only found this beetle once.
- The two beetles were just resting on the plant. On of the beetle moved slowly when we come very close.
- The beetles were shiny dark bluish in colour, just like the polished black finger nail, so we call them Black Nail Beetles.
- When disturbed, the first beetle raised both its hind legs.
- We found two beetles on the plant. Both have enlarged hind legs so we believed both were males. The 2nd beetle dropped onto the ground and flied to the other side of the creek after we took the about photos.
- Reference:
- 1. Repsimus manicatus - Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2006
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p230.
- 3. A review of the Australian rutelinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) - P.B. Carne, Australian Journal of Zoology, 1958.
- 4. RUTELINAE GALLERY - Marc Soula, Systematic Entomology on the Rutelini Tribe, 2006.
- 5. A Guide to the Beetles of Australia - George Hangay and Paul Zborowski, CSIRO PUBLISHING, April 2010, p98.
