Chafer Beetle By The Corridor (26 Apr 2016)

I was on my way home when I found this first-time-encountered 12 mm Chafer Beetle lying on the corridor floor. At a cursory glance, it looked like the commonly encountered Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle but upon closer examination, it differed in the texture of its pronotum and elytra. After searching the internet and compared with the photographs that I found, the beetle seemed very much to be the Black Lawn Beetle (Heteronychus arator).

Here are some of the photographs that I took. Photographing this beetle was a bit of a challenge as it was so hyperactive and kept flying away. It was literally snapping a few photographs and then chase after it to bring it back to the shooting area. Nevertheless, this also gave me an opportunity to photograph it with its wings extended.

This was an unexpected find and it was a good lesson for me to examine closer any beetles that I come across on the floor regardless of what it seemed to be. Who knows I may find other first-time-encountered beetles in so doing.