Have you ever seen a small, black/brown/light brown bug on the ground and wondered what kind of bug is that? It may be a Rugose Stag Beetle (Sinodendron rugosum). My beetle lives on the ground of woods in the early summer. The difference between the male and the female is that the male has a horn on the top of the head when the female doesn’t.

The size of my bug is smaller than a finger but bigger than a nail. The color that my bug is brown, black, and light brown. The brown ones are more popular because they blend in with the dirt on the floor of the woods. So, they are harder to spot out than the black ones. 

My beetle is located at the woods in Washington and through out the country. For Example…(Sequoia Parks in California). The population stays the same year round because like nature some die and some come into the world. So, because of this the population stays the same. Most people find it odd that this tiny little bug can eat a 3 inch piece of bark.

This beetle usually eats in the late after noon. It goes up to the tree and begins to peel off the bark slowly. Its predators are the Northern Spotted Owl. To prevent being eaten by this they will hide themselves under the leaves or the dirt to blend in.

The importance of this animal is that its not killing other bugs like most, they are like vegetarians. What stood out the most to me was that it didn’t eat meat it just ate bark and weeds. So, that surprised me. This bug was pretty interesting, maybe next time when your outside you will see one of these.

Author: Skye F.
Published: 02/13

Sources: Author Book Title City Year Published 
Karen Hartley , Sinodendron ??? 2008
Chris Macro , Beetle
Philip Taylor 
www.insectgeeks.com
www.bugguide.net
www.natureheads.wordpress.com
www.petbugs.com
www.goodbugpage.com 

Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinodendron_rugosum