NEW FAMILIES(to me)

In one day I added two families that I hadn't collected in AZ to my collection. While sorting through some misc. Staphs I had collected from a blacklight, I noticed one of the beetles looked strange. On closer inspection, it was a Telegeuidae. I've collected this beetle before in New Mexico but this was the first time I found them in AZ. Then later in the evening, I went to my favorite collecting spot, Peppersauce Canyon and was poking under rocks in a small bat cave when I fond a Rhiphiceridae. This was the first Sandalus I had collected so I was quite excited. It truly was quite a good day for beetles!

Goniotropis!

Last weekend I found my first non-Metrius Paussinae. This is Goniotropis kuntzeni. It is in the tribe Ozaenini. While many members of the subfamily are myrmecophilic and extremely modified for such behavior, Goniotropis is not. Still, it is quite an impressive looking creature. I really dig the antenna cleaners on the protibia.

Triceratops!

Last weekend I finally found my first major male Strategus aloeus. I've seen countess numbers of minor males and females but this is the first one I have found with big horns! I was planning to off it but then kinda got attached to him so he is now my pet.
His name is Wendell. He is kept in a box without any lady friends so he seems quite frustrated right now. He seems to readily eat carrots and various fruits.

Now all I have to find is the local Megasoma to complete my collection of "horned" AZ dynastines...