More Urban Species of the sidewalk

[urbpan]

While walking the dogs in a light rain, we came across this beetle on the sidewalk. She's fully 2 inches long, even without her pheromone wafting ovipositor extended. Her posture reminds me of the giant beetles in Starship Troopers who, while on another planet, blasted earth with long range energy pulses out of the back of their abdomens.


After I botherated her for the pictures, she started to march off. I picked her up and released her in my yard.

According to Jenn Forman-Orth, this is likely the broad-necked root borer Prionus laticollis. This beetle is named for its larva, a fat white grub that chews through the roots of several different varieties of trees and shrubs. Males are much smaller beetles, sometimes encountered at porch lights, while females are flightless giants ("or nearly so" according to bugguide.net).