Honey-brown Beetle Ecnolagria species
This Honey-brown Beetle, an Ecnolagria species, is in the Tenenbrionideae family of Darkling Beetles, of the Coleoptera Order (which includes all Beetles). This Beetle is very similar to Ecnolagria grandis, but has different colouring and overall size. The distinguishing features are the proportions of head to thorax to body, long beaded antennae and maxillae (secondary jaws). For example they are in a different family to Christmas Beetles, Anoplagnathus species of the Scarabaeidae Family, which have a fairly regular body shape and short antennae with disk-like ends.
This example was found hanging under a window frame, and seen as a tiny moving dot. In nature this beetle would feed on decaying plants, such as leaf litter. Inspection under the microscope revealed that there are wings under their shells.
In the photos (bottom right), the Beetle is shown on a fingertip, and climbing on the 0.5mm lead of a retractable pencil; it has a body length of less than 2mm .
Photos by T. Hastings at
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