Ten-lined June beetle
Encyclopedia
Scarab beetle
Scarab beetle may refer to these species: * A beetle of the family Scarabaeidae* Scarabaeus sacer, the dung beetle species worshipped by the ancient Egyptians as an embodiment of the god Khepri...
, living in the western United States and Canada. They are attracted to light and feed on the needles of coniferous trees. They can make a hissing sound when touched or otherwise disturbed, which can resemble the hissing of a bat
Mouse-eared bat
The mouse-eared bats are a diverse and widespread genus of bats within the family Vespertilionidae.-Relationships:Myotis has historically been included in the subfamily Vespertilioninae, but was classified in its own subfamily, Myotinae, by Nancy Simmons in 1998...
. This sound is made by their wings pushing down, forcing the air out between their wings and back.
Description
They are rather large in size (for an insect), some growing to sizes as large as an 1.25 inches (3 cm) or more. As in other members of this genus, the males have large distinctive antennaeAntenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
consisting of several lamella
Lamella
-Biology:* Lamella , a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap* Lamella , a plate-like structure in an animal* Lamella , part of a chloroplast* Lamella , a group of land crabs in the family Gecarcinucidae...
te plates, which they close up when threatened. The wing covers (elytra
Elytron
An elytron is a modified, hardened forewing of certain insect orders, notably beetles and a few of the true bugs ; in most true bugs, the forewings are instead called hemelytra, as only the basal half is thickened while the apex is membranous...
) have four long white stripes and one short stripe each. The underside of the thorax is covered with brownish hairs. Though they do not bite, they can become numerous enough to be considered pests.