So here's the scenario (and I'm sure you've had similar situations at your house)......I hear Mr. Johnson come into the basement and he hollers at me, "Ruth, c'mere"
Ruth: What?
Mr. J: Just c'mere!
Ruth: I can't (I was coloring my hair......)
Mr. J: Come see this big beetle! (he knew that would get me)
Ruth: Where? in the basement?
Mr. J: Yeah, come see it before I squish it!
Ruth: NOOOO.....DON'T SQUISH IT, I'll be there in a second (as I rush to grab my camera)
Once in a while get those black ground beetles in the basement and I think he's seen those before, so I figured this must be a really outstanding beetle if he wanted me to come and see it that much. What do you think?
It was HUGE! At least 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide! This was definitely the biggest beetle EVER in our basement.
I took some pictures and convinced him to "just let it go in the garden" instead of killing it. After reviewing the photos against my field guide, I'm reasonably certain this is a Hermit Flower Beetle. They're in the Flower Scarab beetle family. According to my field guide the larvae develop in rotting wood of dead or dying hardwoods, so how it ended up in my basement is a mystery. (Here's another picture I found by googling Hermit Flower Beetle for comparison.)
