The pine sawyer is one of the largest beetles in urbanized areas of southern California. The large, pale larva, up to 2 1/2 inches (6.3 cm) long, feeds on the wood of fallen logs and old conifer stumps. The adult beetle in above photo is over 3 inches long (including the extended antennae). It has a pair of powerful jaws (mandibles) that are capable of inflicting a painful pinch. At least they can leave an imprint on a piece of cardboard! The adults emerge from subterranean stumps in early summer. They are nocturnal and are attracted to lights. It is always a surprise when one of these big beetles or the following beetle lands on your window screen.

This is a large beetle with conspicuous white stripes on its wing covers (elytra). When taking off, the elytra move forward and a pair of larger, membranous flight wings unfold. The beetle is attracted to lights at night during the summer evenings in southern California. When handled it makes an unusual squeaking sound. Adult beetles feed at night on needles of coniferous trees.

Several species of large scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae) appear with the first soaking rain during late fall in coastal San Diego County and adjacent Baja California. They belong to the genus Pleocoma and are commonly referred to as rain beetles. The name Pleocoma is derived from two Greek roots, "pleos" (full or abundant) and "kome" (hair). The name translates into "very hairy," which describes these beetles perfectly, particularly their underside. Rain beetles are typically found in coastal foothills and canyons of chaparral and coastal sage scrub. After a soaking rain (usually one or more inches), male beetles make a sudden appearance at dusk, early morning, or on cloudy, drizzly days. The males fly in slow sweeping arcs throughout the foothills, keeping close to the ground in search of the larger, flightless females. They are attracted by a pheromone (chemical sexual attractant) emitted by the female as she waits at the surface of her subterranean burrow. The males are also attracted to lights and often bump into windows of houses in foothill areas. Since adult beetles do not feed, the male only has an energy reserve for a flight of a few hours before he literally runs out of "gas."

The larger, more rotund, flightless female rain beetle rarely leaves her burrow in the ground. She emits a pheromone that is apparently irresistible to the male, as she waits for him at the surface of her burrow. After mating, the female closes the entrance and lays eggs at the base of her burrow. Like the male, she is equipped with a rigid digging device at the end of her head called a clypeus. Both sexes of Pleocoma lack functional mouthparts and digestive tracts, and consquently do not feed during their brief adult life. With her powerful legs and clypeus, the female pushes and scoops the soil like a miniature bulldozer. Her eggs do not mature until the following spring or early summer.

Rain beetle larvae hatch from eggs deep in their mother's subterranean burrow. They are slow to develop, and have a life cycle lasting ten years or more. They feed on roots, fungal hyphae and other organic debris, eventually metamorphosing into adults. Adult males may wait a month or more before the first rains bring them into the open air for their mating flight. During this time, the females dig to the surface and wait for the males to arrive. Neither male nor female rain beetles feed as adults, their short adult life provides the vital transfer of genes and perpetuation of these remarkable species of beetles.

This is a stunning, metallic gold beetle slightly smaller than a ladybird beetle. It truly appears like a glistening golden droplet in your garden. The sides of the prothorax and elytra are flared out and extend beyond the body, thus hiding the head and much of the legs. This extended covering is the derivation of the name "tortoise beetle" or "turtle beetle." Although collected in Escondido (San Diego County), the golden tortoise beetle is relatively uncommon in southern California. It is more common in the eastern United States. Both adults and larvae feed on the leaves of morning glories (Convolvulaceae) and related plants. In the case of the aggressive, fast-spreading bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), this little beetle could actually be beneficial. In order to capture their beautiful golden luster, these beetles should be photographed alive. The color appears especially brilliant during mating season. On dead beetles the golden luster fades rapidly.

Click beetles make a distinctive "clicking sound" when they are placed on their back. They are unable to right themselves with their legs; however, they have a special mechanism on their underside that snaps closed, thus flipping their body right-side-up. The actual mechanism is a pronotal spine that fits into a groove on the mesosternum. The following explanation comes from An Introduction To The Study of Insects by D.J. Borror and D.M. Delong (1964). When placed on its back, it bends its head and prothorax backward, so that only the extemities of the body are touching the surface on which it rests; then, with a sudden jerk and clicking sound, the body is straightened out; this movement snaps the pronotal spine into the mesosternal groove and throws the insect into the air, spinning end over end. Sometimes it takes several attempts (clicks) to land on its legs.