Insect Picture of the Day

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I’m fairly new to this game of “What Bug Is This?”  Bugguide.net has been a huge help, but I’m still at the point where I turn to someone more expert than me in the field to help me figure this stuff out.

So my email to David went something like this:

“David, so that you have more time to do things like have a life outside of Insect POD, I’d love to write more guest posts.  On that note, could you spend the next five hours researching this beetle to figure out what it is?  Thanks!”

To his credit, he helped me out quite a bit.  With great confidence, and the knowledge he has gained through all the time he’s been doing this, he let me know that it’s definitely a beetle.

Heh.

Well, okay, that was how he started his email (”Okay, I’m fairly certain that it’s a beetle…”), but he went on to say that it’s probably of the order Coleoptera, and while he had a few really good guesses as to what it could be, he wasn’t entirely sure.  He gave me a few really useful links, and suggested I dig around a bit.  At the very end of his (long and helpful) email, he mentioned that I should submit it for identification.  For some reason, this had never occurred to me, and hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I submitted the picture, which was quick and painless.

Within moments I was realizing that I’d have to wait longer.  Unfortunately, I’m one of many, many people who want professional bug-ologists* to tell them what their bug is.  So, a no-go this time, but then I had a thought:  There’s a whole audience of smart bug people on Insect POD!  Don’t worry about an ID, because someone there will probably know!

So, that brings me to where we are today.  One of you holds the key to solving this mystery, and I’m hoping you’ll enlighten me.  This large beetle, about a half inch in size, was found in Washington DC in the summer.  Do you know what it is, or what it might be?  I’d love to know!

*Scientists who study insects.  It might not be the official term.

EDIT:  Kit Watson hits it right on the nose in the comments with what this beetle actually is!  I had a last-minute confirmation from Bugguide.net that this is indeed a False Potato Bug, and before I got in here to update it, Kit had it ID’ed!  Good eye, Kit, and thank you!