Species Odontotaenius disjunctus - Horned Passalus
Adult beetles can be up to 1 and 3/8 inches long with a shiny black body and grooves running the length of the wing covers. They also have a short horn on the front of the head between the eyes. Their larvae have two pairs of true legs that grow about 1-1/2 inches in length and they stay in larvae form for the minimum of a year.
These beetles have a mouth for chewing with helps with their staple diet of decaying logs and stumps. The wood consumed by these beetles is well decomposed and falls apart easily. They are very social animals and like to live in large colonies. The adults tend to and feed their larvae decaying plant matter.
Even though this species feed off of decaying wood they are considered harmless and beneficial to the planet.
Websites Used
http://bugguide.net/node/view/2864/bgimage
http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg138.html
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