COLEOPTERA: Passalidae

Members of the family Passalidae are mostly found in the tropics. There are approximately 500 species known worldwide. Larvae typically live in decaying wood (and often eat the fungi and parental droppings). These insects have a subsocial lifestyle (with parents cooperating in the care of the young).

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Odontotaenius disjunctus (Illiger, 1800). The common name for this species is “Bess Beetle” (it is also sometimes called the patent leather beetle). These beetles are most often encountered in rotting wood. The larval stage may last as short as three months; the entire life span of this species may be a year (sometimes longer).This specimen was collected by Mark DuBois in Tazewell Co., Illinois roughly 50 years ago.