This week I have a mystery insect that some of you will know immediately and others may need a bit of time to pin down:
This mini-beast is around 7cm long – so it’s a not really all that mini.
Let me know what you think in the comments section below. Have fun!
Zygoma 
“What a big mandible you have”. I suppose it is in a family somehow related to antlers but it is not a stag …
I’m guessing this was named “petite biche’ and one of the old gods preceeding the Olympians. But there are a lot of subspecies – could this one be from Thailand?
Ha! ‘Pin Down’ Now that’s an entomological pun if ever there was one. Well done Paolo.
It looks a bit Sith (in the Vader / Kylo vein) but I’m pretty sure that’s an unproductive avenue of research. I’ll get back to you.
Is it a lady beetle? Do they call them “does?”
Eek. I don’t know how I missed this on Friday. So which of the various horned thingnames (you know, hard-cased pterans) is this?
I’m trying to narrow it down – there are so many criteria! Shiny black smooth wingcase, spikes over eyes, (only 2 from what I see) – and what looks like a small horn-like structure on the forehead. Well, the only shiny black one I could find was one whose name reminds me ot the fertile crescent and a bull – and it’s from the Congo. Am I close? 🙂
Very!