Derobrachus hovorei – Palo Verde Borer
Cerambycidae
Tucson, Arizona
Every June, hundreds of thousands of giant beetles emerge from beneath the Tucsonian soil. The enormous size of these beetles- up to several inches long- makes them among the most memorable of Tucson’s insects. They cruise about clumsily in the evenings, flying at eye level as they disperse and look for mates.
Palo Verde beetles spend most of their lives as subterranean grubs feeding on the roots of Palo Verde trees. Adults emerge in early summer, usually ahead of the monsoon, and by August they are gone.
It is still a bit too early in June to see them, but in anticipation of this year’s emergence I am posting photos I took in 2006.
photo details: Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon 20D
top photo: indirect strobe in a white box
bottom photo: natural light at dusk
This beetle is now called Derobrachus hovorei. It was recently discovered that the name geminatus actually refers to a less common species we had been calling D. forreri.
Damn taxonomists 😉
dog try to catch it. made her stop. next are they
harmful too humans and or pets.
Thanks Ted! Wow, looks like a very recent change, too. I’ve fixed the ID.
oooooh! I just squealed when I saw that first photo, and made everyone look at me like I’m crazy. Very nice. 🙂
you are crazy i hate bugs all BUGS!!!I ALMOST DIED WHEN I SEEN ONE OF THESE FLY TOWARDS MY HEAD!!!!!!
omg i love bugs
howdy
im no entomologist, but i have studied these beetle in my own backyard in east mesa for 15 years.there is only a little info on them as far as i can find. but i have found 1 VERY interesting observation. from the first day ( or usualy night ) that i see a p.v. bug it it approx. 2 weeks until our first monsoon storm. this has been true every year for at least the last decade that i have been tracking them.
today i noticed the formation of the monsoon clouds in the eastern sky, sneaking up on us from the south and east in mesa. i just saw my 1st p.v. bug last night in my pool while my kids were having a summer party. one of my accounts (im a bug man) noticed the bugs in their pool the other day.
so i would say our first monsoon storm should be approximately july4th. maybe i could get a job for fox news as a weather forecaster!.
thanx
chris h. in mesa
I have no palo verde trees, however I have the beetle in my house during late June and July. Does anyone know what I should do.
Thanks
Dear John,
I think that you should call a Extrminator and get rid of them they have dieases and they are not a good house pets. if you want a pet get a DOG OR CAT OR FISH……
Thank you, worryed
I have a 9 month old puppy who is actually eating palo verde beetles and I know they bite. Any one know of any known problems related to ingestion?
what do they eat i have been catching them for ever but i cant any bug they like to eat i have tried june bugs, small lizards, but i dont know what to do
Warning: These bugs can bite! One flew onto the tennis court and I tried to push it to the side with my racket so it wouldn’t be hurt. The bug bite through my string, which is pretty tough stuff.
just now discovered your blog! i love it! and your photography is amazing, as well.
Can’t say I enjoy the presence of these bugs every year, and yet they do seem part of what makes the Sonoran Desert special.
Smart reply by Chris in Mesa about the approx 2-wk-prior-to-rains appearahce of these beautiful monster bugs. Thanks for the observation, and I’ll do that myself from now on.
Also, I’ve been bitten: yes, they have a memorable bite, not anything that a little swipe of peroxide can’t handle.
What form do they exist in underground? Are they involved now in mating and laying eggs? What does their immature form look like?
Thanks……
The immature form is the white grub pictured. In early June I dug up an intermediate form. This was a beetle in the front part and a grub in the back half. It was still white and not black like the adult.
I find alot of these here in Los Lunas, NM. I’ve been observing one in my garage that had just layed eggs. Quite a spectacle watching it. I can tell you that the eggs appear to be about half the size of a grain of rice with the same appearence but they are very yellow.
i used to catch them when ia was a kid. I can tell you, if you need to handle one to grasp firmly behind their heads to avoid a nasty bite. one they get you they hold on.
fun to catch and watch.
dan
I just found one of these beatles in my backyard… the thing terrified me, and I quickly went inside. I am starting a timer on monsoon season, but I can’t be certain this is the first one of the year, it is however the first one I have seen in a quite bug filled year.
I found 4 of these beetles on my front porch last night, same day “scared” found them, I am highly curious about the monsoon timing, and I am as well going to start a monsoon timer assuming that 2 weeks will elapse or close to it before the first mega rains. This bug is really scary looking, but its so oafy and goofish in its movement I can’t imagine how you could not like it! What a HUGE beetle, I am from Colorado, and have never seen something to the likes of a P.V. Beetle!
I am guessing 12 days until monsoon!
My wife and I saw one last night on our patio wall, after it rained here in Tucson. It was the biggest bug that either of us had ever seen! I ran in to get a camera to get a picture of it, but it crawled over the wall before I got back. We didn’t know it was a Palo Verde until we searched on the internet tonight and found this site. Thanks for the tips, we are turning our lights off right now! It rained again today (26th) in Tucson and it’s really humid, so maybe the monsoon is already here.
I have seen a lot more of these bugs, seems that they are coming out of their underground homes now. The recent sightings have not been as invasive as the first one, so I am not as terrified, I am soon to get a picture to post on here I love this website. Thanks to the OP for the info, and all the others here. It did rain today in Tucson (I live in Tucson) no monsoon but they might be upon us. My timer is on though until I see “big ole fat rain”
I finally got curious after a few years of seeing these critters during monsoon, so I googled them. They eat off of Palo Vede trees that are weak and dying and they do live under ground and are attracted to the light. I know it is not much info, however, these things scrare me to DEATH! I usually get 2-3 a week on my front screen b/c of the light. I literally freeze in fear and have my husband get rid of it before I get out of the car and go in the house. Ugh, so scary… Any ideas on over coming this fear? I won’t be going outside after dark during monsoon… Crazy, I know.
AJ-
Phoenix, AZ
I just found one tonight for the first time ever! My dogs had it in their mouth, we captured it because my kids wanted to see it. We will let it go tomorrow, but these things are amazing! This one is HUGE!!!
Hello, I’m 19 years old and live alone in a studio apartment, I seem to be having an infestation of these palo verde bugs. I just saw my second one and I am deathly afraid of bugs, so you can imagine my terror. I have the second one trapped in a glass and the first one i saw about a week ago i killed. I feel terrible because when i squashed it a bunch of eggs came out, but I cannot deal with the thought of waking up with one of these bugs in my bed. But I know they are basically harmless if you dont bother them, So I was wondering if theres anything I can do to keep them away.??
I have 2 cats and i would think they would stay away because of the smell but it doesnt appear to scare them at all. I saw the suggestion about the lights but i rarely use my porch light and I have no windows in this apartment beside the sliding glass door to the backyard.
Any suggestions or tips would be amazing thx
You may want to take a can of raid for beetles, and spray just around your door frames, also bend down and look at the bottom of your front door. Can you see any light from the other side? Its really important to get a good door flap on the bottom of your door so that no scorpions or beetles, or saddle roaches sneak in. Raid helps though. So does taking a capful of bleach and dribbling it around the door frame on the bottom. DEFINITLY will keep away roaches. They can’t stand the smell.
Sammy,
I would recommend carry a can of bug spray the shoots 3-6 feet so you do not have to get close to them and chance them flying at you. I killed my first one last week. I went outside to move my trash can out to the street and when i came back, there was one about 2.5 inches cruising around my porch. I totally freaked out but kept a level head, ran inside and got the raid. I used half a can of raid of it and he was dead. I do not like to step on them b/c of the eggs and mess. YUCKY! So, I carry a can of bug srpay with me at all times.
Hope this helps…
AJ
Hey I just caught one of these amazing beetles. I was thinking about keeping it as a pet. Its a full grown beetle, the length of an adults index finger and half the girth around. How cool! Looks like they only eat Palo Verde roots though, so I’ll have to let it go soon if I can’t find it a healthy subsitute. Monsoons must be on the way. These bugs emerge right before the monsoons hit. It rained last night, I definitly think that the D.H. Beetle was no coincidence. The rain is coming here soon. I live in Tempe AZ, and have always wondered what the heck these things are! They truely are clumsy, but thier pinchers which are around the size of a pencil eraser all together, look pretty scary, but thier intenna are so cool! My husband never likes the idea of me keeping bugs in the house, but what he doesn’t know won’t kill him. 🙂 I’ll probably have to let it go soon anyways. If you know of any way that they eat other things it would be very helpful.
Looks like those clouds are brewing. I am seeing the Palo Verde Beetle more often now, almost 3-4 times a week. I live in Tucson and can see that the clouds are starting to move closer and closer ever so slightly every day. I keep my distance but really they have started to intrigue me.
These things are tough! You can step on them with all your weight and it will only stun them. The best way I’ve found to exterminate them is by repeatedly smashing them with a brick, though it still only works about 3/4 of the time. It makes for a fun challenge though. I think my next attempt is going to be a flame thrower, maybe a lawnmower.
I’ll have to try to keep my tree healthier so they won’t come back next year.
Sorry, but I can’t share the joy in finding one of these creatures on my patio last night! Have been in AZ for 21 years and this is the first one I have seen up close and personal. If I had this experience 20 years ago – I would not have stayed.
So – questions…..
Do these bugs make that horrid hot weather bug noise? At least one could brace themselves for an encounter!
Could this possibly be feeding off of a distressed cactus? Or, could it have caused my cactus to suddently become distressed?
Are they attracted by palm trees? I don’t see any palo verde trees around me but my neighbors are loaded with palm trees – trunks are not trimmed.
For Sammy – I had a can of Terro Scorpion Killer2 (purchased due to a sudden influx of scorpions which I never had encountered until last summer). It has a nice little applicator attached (similar to the WD40 straw only it quickly flips up into position) so you can direct the spray without getting too close. It killed him. Of course, I sprayed him with so much it might have drowned him but he did eventually die – which was the goal, no matter what the cause.
Another tip, Sammy, keep a spray bottle of Lysol cleaner with bleach handy. It kills roaches almost instantly. And, try the folks at Bug & Weed Mart if you have serious problems.
I think the hot weather bug noise you’re referring to is caused by cicadas. If it’s an incredibly loud rattle, it’s cicadas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada
I’ve never heard PV beetles make any sound. And we get a ton in our backyard every year. Apparently, our backyard is the idea place for them to get it on.
Yeah the only sound they make is a “thunk!” on your window when they go flying into it at night! LOL! I’m in Phoenix, and I’ve already had it happen twice tonight. It’s loud enough to make you think it’s a person who rapped on the window.
I’ve never heard of palo verde eating cactus, but mostly desert scrub like palo verde’s, mesquite, and even citrus trees. they like roots and they kill trees slowly until it basically just blows over in the monsoon one year. One sure way to find out if you have them is to go look for quarter size holes in the dirt. If you see those around, you have beetles.
I hate these bugs and they scare the bejesus outta me! I swear I’ve been divebombed by them before. I’ve pulled all the trees they’ve murdered out of my yard and am going to grow grass and hopefully ruin their territory.
That spray is axactly what I used as well with the little straw that comes out and shoot in a stream.
Some Observations:
I have lived in the Tucson area for 7 years now and have noted the following:
1. The first ‘pioneers’ of these beetles do seem to come out about 2 weeks before the first good rain of the monsoon season. This usually means mid-June.
2. The evening after the first ground soaking rain will trigger a mass exodus of the adults from their underground tunnels. These tunnels are vertical and go about 6 inches underground. They are about 1 inch in diameter which is the size of a quarter.
3. They will eat and kill a non-native cactus. I have seen my non-native ornamentals killed year after year by the larvae of these beetles.
4. The worst place to plant a non-native plant is under a tree.
5. The best place to plant a non-native plant is in the open.
6. I have taken to using a fine mesh cage around my ornamentals such that the adults can not fly or crawl thru it.
Does anyone know if these beetles have any predators? They are too big for the lizards and even the birds to eat. I doubt a snake would be interested in an insect.
[…] eat their way to maturity, doing considerable damage. (See excellent photos and read more about Palo Verde Borer Beetles here at the fine Myrmecos […]
I live in Buckeye and found my first one! I’m originally from MI so seeing any bug this size real life was exciting. My hubby saw it on the patio trapped in a black widows web. We thought it was dead. I went out with the camera and started poking around to find out it was still alive. I freed it from the web and let it go over the wall. How amazing!
I work at a school in Phoenix. I noticed these bugs around our campus this summer as all of the kids are gone. They are in the classrooms and in the bathrooms. they are HUGE and very loud in the trees. I have to say, as an adult woman, I turn into a little squealy 5 year old becuase they are so big and creepy! They are all dying everywhere so I kind of feel bad for them but I didnt know that they could fly so that makes it even more scary! I am having an exterminator come out today to hopefully take care of them. I wish no death on any bug but good lord, do they have to be so big and scary??
I wish I could share the amazement with all of you! But, all I want to know is how to get rid of the damn things! Smashing them is not an option for me!
I use a can of bug spray. I spray them until they are on their backs and then I put a small pot over them and they die. I hate smashing them too. I carry my spray everywhere!
C.D.
I called an exterminator and they said becuase they are flying bugs, they do not cover these types of bugs. I don’t know if he meant that they just dont mess with flying bugs or if they don’t have anything to kill them. He said then that their lifespan is almost up and that they should all be dying soon once they surface anyways. OK, so I didnt like that answer at all but I guess I have to figure our how to avoid them. Ugghhh, gives me the creepies just thinkin’ about em!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!
I just found one of these in central phoenix home OMG! I am from flagstaff and am not familiar with this type of bug. I went to work after I took a picture of it asking is this going to hurt my lil boy!?? And thanks for your posts they were much help. I can share photo with if you would like… Also funny to see that it seems they are mostly to Tucson and here in phoenix I found one?!
They are freaky looking! I would love to see the picture of the one in the Central Phx home.
Well, they must commute by air! N.L.V. NV. is one helluva walk!
They do commute by air! They look like little humming birds, or sparrows flying through the air. I can’t wait until the monsoon season is over. I love the rain, but HATE the bugs. I have no “amazement” for these things either. When I see one, it must die. I spray it with bug spray and I carry the spray with me at all times.
I just found one of these bugs in Northern California. Can’t figure out how/why it would be this far north?? By north I mean we are only 15 minutes from Oregon, right on the ocean.
We are building a lodgepole pine house and the bug was hanging out on one of my porch logs. Does anyone know if they always bore underground to get to the tree roots, or might they bore into my house logs as well? None of the wood for our house is touching the dirt…it all sits on a concrete foundation at least 2 feet off the ground.
I also wonder if I should be looking for more of these bugs, or if it is just a fluke that this one is here?? Do they travel in packs?
Just stepped on and smashed TWO of these bugs!! I had no idea what they were because I was outside in the yard at night and I heard something drop from the sky. I could tell is was some kind of black bug but didnt know what. Once I stepped on it…ANOTHER ONE fell right there in the same place! eww these things are gross! Thank Goodness for Google because I had NO clue what these things were! Seems as if there in Surprise AZ also!! Happy hunting folks…id recommend a tough sneaker, these bugs are HUGE!
I recommend a shovel and chopping them in half… they just don’t die with a shoe… ewww. They are so gross & scarry. I’m afraid they will bite my dogs. My dachshund was out on the patio the other night & I told her to come in and she was staring at something & it was one of those awful bugs
Hello-
I live in Las Vegas and encountered one of these three nights ago while I was taking some pictures of the cicadas. This was about 2 AM. We saw one last year too in our front yard. And yes, that buzzing noise we all hear in this area and others are from the cicadas. People in Las Vegas think it’s locusts…ha ha. Anyway, it was a big Derobrachus hovorei beetle! I measured it at over 5 inches long. They are one scary and huge beetle. It took every ounce of nerve, bravery I had to get close enough to measure it. And yep they bite!! Boy do they bite and hard–and pretty quick too 🙂 I still have a mark on my finger.
Love your blog–really fantastic photos and information 🙂
I just discovered the existance of these bugs approx. 4 days ago when my cat brought one into the house and let it go… I thought it was a sewer roach until my dad informed me otherwise.
I was intrigued though to hear that they only come out in July and August and that my cat found one in October. We have sort of heated up– could that be part of the reason?
I live in Vegas and suffered through the fear of tons of beetle-like bugs that would come out in the evening.
I don’t think they’re this Palo Verde breed because I have no trees other than Palms and a Palmogranate.
But due to the extreme heat in daily Vegas I do a ton of gardening in the evening and those things start coming out and FREAK ME OUT!
So far (Thank God!) I haven’t encountered any that fly- they just run really fast. But about 3 years ago the casinos were having major problems controlling the flying ones and I’ll never forget the looks of fancy, dressed-up women playing Roulette when one would fly into their hair and get stuck in the hair spray!
Please, does anyone know what these Las Vegas ones are?
They will be out in full force any day now and I can’t afford an exterminator like last year.
The lone last year used some spray to spray all around the outdoors of the house, sound walls, etc and for one full year I could live in peace outdoors, not seeing a single one.
But the day after he sprayed they were lying around with their feet in the air EVERYWHERE!
Please help. I truly can’t take these things.
I am just grateful they don’t seem to want to come into the house, although I found one at LEAST 3 inches long on the tile wall of my shower when I stepped in.
Please can someone help? I do NOT hold the same appreciation for these bugs as others seemingly do!
I moved to Phoenix 2 years ago, and I was worried about scorpions. Well, still haven’t seen one of those, but imagine my dismay (and fascination) when THESE monsters showed up around my apartment!
I haven’t seen them anywhere else, just in the hallways of my apartment complex, flying (badly) and falling to the ground with a heavy thud. They don’t seem too bright, but they LOVE me. One even tried to climb in my car with me, prompting me to yell “No! Bad bug!” at it. I figured that anything that big would be intelligent enough to know what No meant.
And this evening, I saw my first of the season. Predictably, it went right for my hair, like a drunken helicopter. I’m interested in the above comment, linking the appearance of palo verde beetles to the start of the monsoon. I hope it’s true, I love those thunderstorms.
And I need to get something good out of my crazy encounters with these desert giants.
We just saw our first of the season in West Texas. Ugh! My four-year old daughter said it was chasing her on the back porch. You can imagine the hysterics! I have no idea what it might be eating around here. We sure don’t want to share our back porch with them!
Four Yorkies will kill a 3 inch PV beetle after about 10 minutes of tossing it back and forth in the air. They have not been bitten yet but was checking to see if poisonous. Live in Tucson and have had 2 or 3 a night for about 7 days now.
Had to duck one night while sitting out. Will be counting days til monsoons!
Are these the grubs that are taking out my agave?
It’s that time of year again!! Is it possible that the same Palo Verde Beetle hangs out at my house year after year, or do they just all look alike? I’m letting him rent some space in my garage, because I figure it’s gotta be bad karma to kill something that awesome (by bug standards). Is this bug laying eggs (larvae?) in my garage or does it do that somewhere else? Let’s hope so 🙂 I told the bug that if I see him anywhere near the door that goes into my house from the garage that we would have to revisit the terms of our relationship, so far he’s behaving, he’s almost as big as my Chihuahua 🙂
Holly:
the palo verde beetle grubs eat the roots of palo verde trees, so the beetles will probably not lay eggs in your garage. Your beetle friend seems to have made a navigational error and ended up in your garage. They seem to be attracted to lights, so maybe you can coax him out…?
Hi Erika,
I don’t have Palo Verde trees anywhere near my house, yet I have the beetles. I think the one that was hanging out in my garage is the one I saw lying dead outside, I was actually sad, the bug spray we use to kill the crickets probably did him in 😦
Holly
Holly,
More power to ya’ if you can live with the knowledge that one of these horrific creatures resides in your garage. Please don’t mis-understand me, I am not a mean person. However, I am TERRIFIED of these guys. They fly and are huge. I always dread this time of year for this reason alone. I am a native, so obviously I love the rain. The PV Beetles seem to be attracted to light (99% of the time I see them on my screen door by the light). From what I have read on these guys, they do their mating and then go under ground after monsoon. They are a larvae and develope all year then emerge as huge, creepy bugs during monsoon season. I wish I were comfortable enough to let one live in my garage, but unfortuantely, I kill them so they do not multiply (and scare the crap out of me). Good luck!
PS-If anyone has advice on overcoming this fear, do tell!
I just checked on my tenant, he’s still alive and well and more importantly in the same spot where I left him in the garage, I wonder if he’s a little doped up from sucking on the pesticide we sprayed to keep those annoying crickets and huge roaches away this time of year.
The only reason I’m not terrified of the PV Beetle is because: (a) he is not flying through my house, and (b) I grew up in an apartment building in NYC where no matter how clean you were you always had to contend with the “welcome home party” that the roaches were throwing for you, sometimes they’d even invite their water bug friends 🙂
For some reason the bugs and other wildlife don’t bother me as much in Scottsdale, must be the heat, too hot to care, and as long as they remain outside, things will remain calm.
just bought a house here in east mesa az and have seen 10 of these things in my front yard alone.One of which I noticed seems to be dominant and will not hesitate chasing you. they all range from 6 in to the big one at right around 9 inches.They pack a good bite too.i was messing with one of them with some welding wire and it bit right through it like nothing.I normally leave bugs alone but if they stay hostile gonna have to brake out the raid and go to work.
Had first monsoon rains on Friday July 9th exactly 14 days after seeing the first PV beetles! I am a believer!
Ladies & Gents:
I have just a few things to say about these crazy critters. First off, why am I getting blogs about bees and other insects? I thought this was only a “Palo Verde Beetle” blog?
In reference to the guy in East Mesa, I have never seen one of these bugs 9 inches long! Would it be possible to post a picture of this dude?
My husband insists that the PV Beetles do not come out until it rains (which we have not received in PHX yet), however, I have seen a dead one in the parking lot and one flying overhead in my back yard. I have been staying indoors after dark and always do during this time. I seriously think if one of these bugs landed on me, I would have a heart attack! (not joking).
This year (in May), we bought 3 Muscovy ducks (1 male/2 females) as they are noted for eating insects. They are approximately 3.5 months old and hopefully they at least kills these beetles.
To the lady who says to cut them in half with a shovel, I agree! It take more than a foot stomping on them to kill them.
Sorry to bore you all… I do enjoy reading your posts.
we were walkin my gf grandmothers dogs n we were almost home when one tried 2 land on my gfs arm she screamed n let the dog go lucky she didnt run a away. then tonight i was in my backyard and one landed right by the pool, my g/f screached and said kill it kill it, i told her no that would not be very educational, so i grabbed my one million volt taser much stronger than what the police here in scottsdale have, how do i know? because ive been tasered by both, so anyways back on topic, i tased him for about ten seconds and it barley even fased him/her. so i stuck him in a plastic water bottle and threw him/her in the alley, dont worry i poked a hole in it so he could breathe.
We live up in North Scottsdale at Dynamite & Scottsdale road and I see these bugs every year starting around mid-July. Since we have bark scorpions up here in the desert I use a very expensive chemical called “Suspend SC” liberally outside our home to keep the scorpion population down. I coat the entire front patio with the stuff, and just this morning I opened my front door and there are two adult Palo Verde Root Borers lying on their backs, twitching their legs. The first one I saw just over a week ago, so I guess that means our first monsoon storm is just a few days away now. The Palo Verde trees on our front patio do have the exit holes described. One interesting thing about the holes – my wife was watering plants around the Palo Verde trees one day and decided to put the hose on one of the holes to see how much water would go in. She held the hose running into the hole for what must have been over a minute, and the water just kept going in. I said “Honey I have no idea what’s down there, for all I know it’s a cavern. I’ll have to dig it up sometime and find out”. Now that I know what’s down there I’m a little less inclined to start un-earthing it. Ugly buggers. At least I haven’t had any flying around when I’m outside. I also have Desert Spiny Lizards around my house, which live in burrows. I like THESE guys because they are large, cool looking, and fast when not holding perfectly still as to camoflage themselves (sort of). And not poisonous, but can bite if handled. It could be that the lizards are more responsible for the size of the cavern under my trees, making use of the exit holes to start their burrows. Or maybe the field mice. Who knows….
Wow, it was great to read all these posts!
I have seen these nasty things off and on my whole life and I am still incredibly terrified of them. I am NOT a bug person by any means and I freak out pretty badly with these guys. My husband thinks it is super funny to watch me scream and run inside when I see them.
I have been seeing them for about the past 3 weeks at my place in Mesa so far this year. The first one that I saw was about 6 inches long. My husband stunned it and chopped its head off with a knife. Stomping them doesn’t do much besides stunning them though, and my husband wears steel toed boots and he a tough guy.
I hope that my daughter doesn’t have to encounter any up close and personal…she is only two and I can just imagine how that would go over. Thankfully she is usually in bed fairly early. I don’t think they are in any of my trees, but there are many trees in my neighborhood. I don’t have any of the telltale holes around our 5 trees.
Thank you all for the bug spray advice, I will have to try that out. I was always under the impression that they were super bugs that couldn’t be taken down with a mesely spray…perhaps that helps to explain my extreme fear of these monsters.
I just moved to N.Scottsdale this past May. OMG! I saw my first palo verde bug tonight. I was petrified. It was on my back patio. I do not like these. I do not like they won’t go away till end of august. these are frightening to me. Ive had rattlers, scorpions, and tarantulas in my yard so far, but this bug upset me the most of all. I just do not like it. its big and very scary looking. Can anyone tell me if they can get inside the house or do they mostly stay outside? I am afraid to go to sleep now thinking one can get in the house. Yikes. I love living here but these bugs are frightening here.
Denise: they mostly stay outside. They seem to enjoy the area around porch lights, but as long as all your windows have screens (or you keep them closed, and I don’t blame you in this weather), they don’t really want to come in, nothing inside is really of an interest to them.
Denise-
I, like you, am terrified of these nasty bugs. They are big, scary, ugly and they FLY! I have been lucky enough to have never seen one in my home. They seem to prefer residing outdoors. They are normally attracted to light, which means I usually have one or more on my porch more often than not during Monsoon. My secret to getting rid of them: Terro Scorpion Killer 2 with a nozzle that extends out so that you can shoot them from afar. After drenching them, I put a small pot (flower pot) over them so they do not escape and I know where they die. I sound sick, I know, but it’s how I kill them.
Hope this helps.
Stop killing them and just let them go.Why don’t you go spray some poison on yourselves and see how you like it.it amazes me how many ignorant people will kill something that is so remarkable yet is totally harmless.Maybe you will all meet them in hell someday. 🙂
To Anonymous,
Maybe I’ll see you there! Would you mind telling me again what purpose they serve, besides killy Palo Verde trees?
Thank you!
PS- You sound like a really pleasant person. 🙂
Dear Terrified-
Palo verde beetles knock out older Palo Verde trees, allowing the young PV trees, mesquite trees, saguaros, opuntias, and other desert plants a better chance to grow in their wake.
They inhabited the region tens of thousands of years before humans showed up.
It isn’t the Palo Verde beetles that have to justify their existence. They live in the desert.
What’s your excuse?
They don’t do much to benefit the environment apart from accelerating the death of sickly palo verde trees. Almost a kind of parasite in my opinion.
I’m a teacher at a year round school in the Las Vegas area. I found one of these fellas on campus this morning and would like to know what to feed it! I think it makes a great science exploration for a native species, however I can’t seem to find information on what to feed an adult. Any suggestions on something I can get ahold of easily would really be helpful! Thank you!!!
Dear Curious –
I think you will find the answer to that question in some of the posts above. From what I understand, the adults basically don’t eat. They aren’t interested in food; just in meeting other adults of the opposite sex around porch lights at night to mate, and then burrow back down under another palo verde tree to lay eggs, where the larvae will grow and live 2-3 years underground, feeding on the roots of the tree until they emerge as adults in early to mid summer, where the cycle repeats. They probably die at the end of August. Mine die sooner because I spray Suspend SC scorpion killer around my porch lights, which is pretty effective on these bugs.
This is much the same life cycle and not-eating-as-adults as I saw with another insect we get here in Phoenix in the fall, called the Crane Fly. The adults exist only to mate and don’t really care about eating.
If you’re going to keep this ugly palo verde beetle in your classroom be sure it’s secured in a cage because they DO FLY and they DO BITE – HARD.
Ted in North Scottsdale-
Very good information! Where do you get Suspend SC Scorpion Killer? I use Terro Wasp Spray 2 with a nozzle that extends out (like a Dust Off can) so that I do not have to get close to them. This seems to be very effective. I have researched and it sounds like they only bite when cornered or feel threatened. Otherwise, they just scare the crap out of you and mind their own business. I cannot wait until this monsoon season is over and they die off. I do not go out at night anymore.
Thanks for the info.
I buy Suspend SC from this store here in Phoenix. One little bottle costs about $60 but you dilute it 2 ounces per gallon of water for outdoor application. You don’t have to spray it directly on the bugs. Just use a pump sprayer and liberally coat the wall all around the porch light, and the ground near the wall.
Do-It-Yourself Pest & Weed Control Stores
3215 East Thunderbird Road, Phoenix, AZ 85032-5363
(602) 992-1894
I have two dead ones on my back patio and three on my front patio. I’m waiting for a squirrel or a rabbit to stop by and munch on them so I don’t have to pick them up with a shovel. Yuck!
And the only bark scorpions I find in my house when I use this stuff inside every 4-6 months are dead ones, or nearly dead ones.
– Ted
Ted-
Thanks for the info! It is worth $60 for a small bottle if it gets rid of these nasty things! I am going to get some and hopefully it will do the trick.
After I spray them with my wasp spray, I put a small flower pot over them so I know where they die… that way they dont crawl off someplace and die. I like to know that they are dead and right where I killed them. I absolutely dread this time of year… not really for the humidity (which is miserable), but for the bugs! So you think they will all be dead/gone in about a month??
I found one crawling on my tree,fearing for my tree i grabbed a broom and knock it off boy it trying to crawl back to the tree about 6 time till finally i got it onto the sidewalk and swept it into the gutter and held it down it it drowned.First let me tell this i don’t like killing Gods creatures but this beetle kept coming back it even squared off with me,it scare the living daylight out of me.Boy we have been getting a lot of rain the west valley(phoenix) the past two days and i love it.
My Six year old came in tell me there was a HUGE bug in the garage. I was expecting a cockroach, but saw a Palo Verde bug instead, for the first time. I thought it was very cool looking, the kids liked it too. I took a broom and gently swept it outside and closed the door. I think they’re cool looking, but I don’t want it in my garage. 🙂
I’m in Chandler, AZ. We’ve been getting a uge influx of these bugs for the past 3 years. I think this may be because of the forest fires up north that have burned away their food supply… but I could be wrong.
What I’ve discovered by observing them:
1. They bite. No question. They do bite. Bite, they do. Yes, they bite. They draw blood! Get it? Okay, moving on…
2. Yes, they like light. Turn the lights off!
3. They can survive for a prolong period of time under water [days] just like a roach. I discovered this by trapping one in the swimming pool skimmer.
4. They have accordian lungs like roaches. However, their lungs are well covered by their wings. Just get a little on their feet, when they clean their lungs [gill like thingies], they’ll glog them up with the bug spray [the point of the spray in the first place]. Takes a little while but will happen.
5. Once they land, they usually can’t take off any more. I’ve never seen one fly away it arrived… even though they try.
6. They make no sound other than loud “thuds” from landing. Not bright creatures, will land on anything, including you.
Two other bugs that seem to be appearing in numbers: Iron Cross Blister Beatles and some unknown 10″ long bug that looks similar to a Root Borer (found in my pool and freaked me out… and I like bugs!)
From Las Vegas, NV:
I think you guys have helped me finally I.D. WTF has been scaring the crap outta me! Our maintenance guy said it was a Texas Longhorn Beetle, but I checked and it looked different. I had the cajones the other night to catch it on the end of a broom & take it far away from my porch. Then the maintenance guy tells me they can freaking fly!
Tonight, our courtesy patrol took one far away from my outer wall. Half an hour later, the damn thing comes flying right at me! I think he/she has a nest/territory near me. How do I keep these guys away from me without harming them? I cannot do anything about my fright, but I can’t smoke (nasty habit, I know) inside and I feel trapped inside my apartment at night! I feel he/she and I need to respect each other’s space, but I don’t know what to do. I really do appreciate ALL animals and realize they have the right to be here too.
However….I have a diagnosed clinical phobia of various insects/bugs. I actually went through a sliding glass door to escape a large Palmetto/American Cockroach! This Derobrachus Hovorei appears to be one to add to cockroaches!
I love rats, bats, snakes, mice, frogs/toads, lizards, moths, butterflies and even Praying Mantises. My phobia is very odd. I’m not afraid of being hurt or getting some germs/disease from the ones I fear. (Hell, yesterday I picked up an injured pigeon with my bare hands!) But I just can’t stand these guys being anywhere near me. I think my main fear is that they will touch me, cling to my clothing or worst of all, get caught in my hair!
I spray Spectracide all around the outside weekly. Will that keep them away from me? I even sprayed it on the bamboo blinds on the patio. I know it keeps other bugs away, but these guys have some serious shell coverage!
Someone please give me some ideas! I really DON’T want to hurt them, but I don’t need to go to the hospital because I went through a sliding glass door again!
Thank you so very much! Any/all ideas are appreciated!
(And, I have the utmost respect for those of you who are into these critters and want to care for them!)
My email is nosferkatu@hotmail.com and I will try to check back on this page for any updates. (And, I have the utmost respect for those of you who are into these critters and want to care for them!)
It’s light outside now, so maybe I can walk my doggie!
Thanks again!
These things are like little Terminator Machines. They do not squash, they do not stop divebombing you, They are impervious to shoes, they do not die. If you are not careful they WILL take your wallet and car keys. I hate them!
My wife said she saw a couple today. She goes outside to smoke, and FREAKS OUT whenever one of those attack-helicopter bugs comes near. When we first moved here about 6 years ago, I thought it was some kind of mutant cockroach. I used roach spray to kill one but it took damn near 1/2 a can. I soon discovered that the only sure fire way to kill one is to go for the head shot. when they are on the ground, they don’t move too fast, so you can use the tip of a broom handle if your aim is good. Once I do that, I toss them into a part of the yard where the wife and I (and dogs) don’t go. I see the birds feasting on the carcasses.
Haven’t seen any yet this year, but I already sprayed the areas around my porch lights with Suspend SC, so I’m ready for ’em. Let the monsoon season begin!
We have two large Palo Verde trees in our front yard and are now seeing an infestation of these PV borer monsters. About 20-25 emerged from the ground tonight alone (btw 4:00 PM and 11:00 PM). It’s a nightmare! They die rather easily with a direct shot of Raid Ant & Roach Spray- but only ‘Raid’ seems to work. Hotshot spray- not too hot. This is the 2nd year I’ve seen this, and I’m afraid they’re going to kill-off our Palo Verdes. I’m in central Phoenix, trees are nearly 10 years old and I sure hate to lose the trees. Anyone know how to get rid of these Texas-sized bugs? My wife is ready to cut the trees down!
Ok guys, let me tell you first-off, I have experience dealing with these bugs. I just killed 8 of them today June 29th 2011, because we have a infestation of them in our huge palo verde tree out front (10-15 exit tunnels at the base of the tree).
The secret? I used the back of a SHOVEL. I coaxed the beetles out of the ground with an ‘”organic” (human/animal safe) undiluted insecticide, by pouring a good amound of it directly down into the exit tunnels. Keep in mind, this stuff just slows em’ down and doesn’t kill them. When they emerge from the earth, that’s where the shovel comes in…
The most revolting part about this process was when I noticed the hundreds of egg sacs that splattered out of the 4+ inch female beetle after being squashed. To prevent the white, rice-shaped eggs from impregnating the ground, I would put the live beetles into a plastic bag and then crush them, later disposing of them.
Palo Verde Beetles appear just before it rains and usually later in the evening 7-11pm, I suggest using a headlamp for spotting them. The beetles begin to emerge from the ground in late June and are gone by August. The adult lifespan is only about a month, however, the larvae may feast on your tree’s roots for 1-2 years before they emerge as adults to mate. Now, I like bugs as much as the next guy, but I wasn’t about to let them hurt my AWESOME palo verde trees!
Guys….
Once the bugs emerge from under the Palo Verde tree they are DONE with feeding on it. At this point their sole purpose is to hang around the porch light looking for mates. If you take the trouble to read the posts above you will learn more. If you don’t want them hanging around your porch light then turn it off, or spray the wall with the bug killer I use (see above) so you don’t have to dispatch each one manually. So now we know it’s 2 weeks to our first monsoon – yay!
OK it must be monsoon time again.. We have had encounters with 5 of the monsters the last 2 days. We do not have a palo verde anywhere near us but they still seem to come around. Glad to know from the above posts that they have a short life span. Not a big bug lover at all and these guys give me the creeps.
I just found one of these in my basement. I live in suburban Philadelphia. Anyone know what the heck it’s doing in the Northeast? I have it in a tupperware container. The kids are fascinated with it.
Did you come to Tucson at one time? or have company from Southern Az for eggs to hatch. I have heard of scorpions being found in areas far away after an airline trip. By now you probably got an answer from someone in the Philadelphia area and interested too on how a palo verde beetle made it to Pennsylvania. Dan in Tucson
I heard someone knocking at my door just now and low and behold another palo verde beetle flying around my back door. One thing I can tell you is when you are riding your bicycle ( I was 10 yrs old at the time) and you get “smacked” in the middle of your forehead….IT HURTS!!! It almost knocked me off my bike…lol I’ve lived in Tucson all my life and used to catch them as a kid. They are a constant reminder that rain is soon to arrive. When I hear the cicadas buzzing and see the beetles at night, I know summer is finally here.
ewwww come catch the ones outside my house im suuuuper freaked somebody saaave mee i hate tucson during monsoon season 😦
We’re in N.E Mesa (Red Mnt Ranch) and I’ve seen 3 in the last week. We’ve lived here for 3 yrs and this is the first time we’ve ever seen them on our back patio. We don’t have an Palo Verde’s in our yard but they are around the neighborhood. I am curious about the gestation mentioned above, that the larve can take 2-3 yrs to hatch. I wonder if that’s why we haven’t seen them until this summer. I have to say I am absolutely terrified of these gigantic beasts (I hate roaches more than anything). These remind me of cockroaches on sterioids, they are so BIG and gross and the fact that they fly and bite just makes me want to stay inside until August.
I’m in midtown Tucson (one mile north of the University) and have a huge mexican palo verde tree in our yard. Every summer these suckers rise like Phoenix from the earth beneath our tree. They started showing up right before 4th of July this year, and now I’m finding 5 (at least) new bore holes a day. They are disgusting and I’m making sure our doors are shut verrrrry tight.. I don’t want to find one of these in the house! So who knows if our tree is going to die, but it’s been like this for two years now and the tree is still going strong. It’s not in the greatest shape, but definitely not close to being dead. We’ll see! Happy summer fighting these beasts away!
So I’m sitting at my desk tonight and feel something crawling across my foot under the desk. *shiver* I don’t move because I don’t want to get bitten by whatever it is, which is pretty hard to do. After it crossed my foot I slid back and looked under my desk, and it’s this 3 inch black beetle. Now (obviously) I know what it is, since I’m posting on this page. I put it in a huge pickle jar with some grass, bark and sticks, and am watching it. It has already laid an egg. The pincers are HUGE and can obviously inflict a painful, skin-lacerating bite. My biggest question is: how the hell did that giant thing get inside my house??? A couple of times a year I see a cockroach inside, but they can flatten out and get through incredibly small spaces. I don’t have any Palo Verde trees, so it must have just been flying by. I put a small piece of banana in the jar, as I read that they eat fruit- I’ll be watching to see. I’ll probably keep it until it dies, because I know the larvae are very harmful to our native Palo Verde trees- even healthy ones. I don’t understand so many peoples’ completely irrational fear of bugs….are y’all scared of the boogey man too?? HAHAHAHa!! Silly, silly people.
Apparently they can crawl under very narrow spaces, like roaches or scorpions do. I found one half dead, lying on it’s back just one foot inside my front door. It must have crawled between the threshhold and the door, (an area that I had just sprayed with Suspend SC about 1 week prior), and picked up enough poison there that it stopped in it’s tracks and keeled over. Not such a nice thing to find when we walked thru the front door returning from a 3-day vacation, but it was better than finding a healthy one inside the house! This is the first time that one of these ugly bugs has found their way inside the house – all the more reason for me to seal under the exterior doors more tightly to keep out scorpions and other visitors.
Thank you for all of the great (yet oh so creepy) info on these monsters. I’ve lived in Scottsdale for over 30 years and never had the pleasure of meeting a pv beetle until last summer. We moved into a home on Scottsdale Ranch last June and were bombarded with them all summer. My son (a strapping 6′ 18-year-old) has the image burned into his brain of my husband trying to kill one that dive-bombed us in our garage one evening. No matter how many times he whacked it with a broom, it didn’t even seem dazed. Finally, my husband just chopped him in half. Ugghhh!!! Starting in June this year, my son began demanding we drive into the garage and close it immediately before even getting out of the car. Last night was our first sighting of the summer. While taking out the dumpster, my son saw one repeatedly smacking itself against the house next door just under their garage light. And there’s a dead one (the same Einstein fella as last night??) belly-up in our pool this morning. What’s interesting to me is that we don’t have any Paloverde trees in our or our neighbors’ yards anywhere around us. There are some on the main drive a block away but those are the closest. Also, both last summer and this summer, we’ve found one of the larvae (living– ick!!) in our dining room. Last summer we were new and ignorant, so we put it out in the yard not knowing what it would grow into, but this year we are more schooled, so we smashed the little bugger!! We must have a nursery going on somewhere in our yard, but I’m just not sure where. Our landscaping in this neighborhood is very non-deserty– lots of grass, palms, Mesquite trees and Lantanas. I guess I’ll have to go searching for the tell-tale burrow holes… during the daylight hours!!!
Hello! Its me again!
I have lived in the valley for 13 years and have never seen a Palo Verde beetle before. Last night I was in my kitchen and saw the biggest PV beetle. It scared the bejeezus out of me since I had no idea what it was. It was about 4 inches in length and just terrifying. I ended up killing it with a shovel (there was no way I was getting close to that thing). I was reading some of the older posts on here, and apparently those darn things can bite. I have a 2 year old son and I don’t want him to get bit. How can I keep these things out of my house? If they want to live in my yard, then that’s one thing, but I don’t want them in my house. Thanks!
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I’d be afraid to even punch one if it were flying at me. Looks like good eating for my S. Invicta colony! 😛
Beetle punching, a novel pastime.
Someone above said the only sound they make is the ‘thud’ when they hit the wall or glass. I was sitting outside on my (very small) patio at 1:30am the other night, when I heard a loud buzzing sound. Next thing I know there is one of these PV guys on the floor a few inches from me! I snuck inside, got the raid, and sprayed it (sorry to say – I do respect animals and such, but this guy just freaked me out!). About 10 minutes later it was legs up but still moving. I got a small dust-pan and scooped it up, and tossed it over the wall. Yikes! There is a very large PV tree outside my apartment so I guess that’s where he came from.
Someone also said above that there’s no point spraying inside the bore holes that they emerge from. But they do return to the tree to lay eggs, I presume … so do they go back to the tree using new holes?
I’ve only been in Scottsdale a couple of years, and generally I love it, having come here from the Bay Area. But I swear – had I seen one of these up close and personal on my first few visits I would not have stayed!
I have quite a bit of experience with these nasty little creatures. I have nightmares and dread thier arrival every year. My first experience was not until I moved to down town Tempe. It must have been a year when more of them were out than usual (the grubs take two to three years to reach maturity than they surface).
2006 My husband was riding home on his vespa me following behind him, he was hit by something in the neck he describe as a small bird. We pulled into our carport and all of a sudden we were swarmed. The first one clumsily flew at us, than another, than another. We counted six. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Later on that evening they started flying at the windows trying to get inside!!!! I did a little research and discovered that they were attracted to the very bright florescent work lights we have on the ceiling of the carport. I did a little more research and found out that these bugs emerge late June and usually lay their eggs and die off by early August. This is sad for me being a native to Tempe and loving the wonderful Monsoon season. Needless to say, I stayed inside most of the summer evenings.
2007 The next year I had nearly forgotten about these bugs and walked outside to get something out of our tool shed. I noticed a couple of paloverde beetles feeding on some cat food that the neighbors had left out for the ferile cats! I ran away as fast as I could. I couldn’t believe that they were eating cat food. I thought they only fed on palo verde roots. I know that they were palo verde beetles because of the classic black exoskeleton, anntenna and the shere size… After that I made sure to stay away from the shed at night.
2008 I am a landscape designer and used to work at a large tree farm and all of my coworkers knew that I was terrified of Paloverde beetles. Anyways one guy desided to put a paloverde beetle inside our time clock (we had the kind of time clock you had to insert you hand inside and exert pressure to assure it was the correct person punching in.) I blindly put my hand inside not expecting anything and all of a sudden my hand was not alone, and there was one of the largest beetles I had ever seen! My reaction must have been funny.
2009 found a palo verde beetle in a bowl of water for the cats. I thought it was dead so I left it for a couple of days until my husband could dispose of it properly. He went to over to the bowl and picked it up and the beetle was still alive. The bugs are steardly and can survive for days even in water!
2010 Discovered that Palo Verde Beetles were eating the roots of my Arizona Ash Tree. I live in a large flood irrigated lot with lush landscaping. No palo verde trees in sight. I had notice that the tree had been declining in health a was going to fertilize and water the tree when I had noticed tons of one inche holes around the ground below the tree. This is also the same area I discoverd the beetles eating cat food. They must have decided this was a good place to lay thier eggs… This year I have placed a systemic pestiside around the base of the tree to see if this can help protect from any future damage. Systemic means that the roots actually take up the pesticide and absorbs throught the inside of the plant killing anything that might try to eat the roots or folliage. I hope this will work.
2011 has been a very active year. My first sighting was July 4th. I was sitting in the pool (my worst nightmare) and one flew at my hair. A days later we got back from a trip to the rim and discovered that a neighbor playing a joke had placed a dead one on our front door step. I guess everyone thinks my public fear of palo verde beetles is funny. Today I actually noticed one flying toward me in broad day light. I thought that I was safe during the day!
I can’t wait until the end of the season… As far as trying to rid the animals, turn of all outside lighting and may try a system pesticide on affected trees. Self protection; I try wearing a hooded jacket as so they will not fly and get trapped in my hair again, and a tennis racket works pretty good!
Thanks for the fun read !! When I play tennis at night they migrate to the tennis court, last week there were approx. 6 of them flying around, very distracting, but I do love seeing grown men squeal in terror. I grew up in an apt. building in NY so one never knew what would be waiting for you when you turned on the lights, as long as these bad boys stay outside I’m okay with them. The fact that they eat cat food is a bit disturbing, maybe soon they’ll start meowing and growing fur, now that would be scary.
I found one of these on the kitchen counter early this morning! I live in Flagstaff, and I can’t find any mention of them being common around here, but here it is! I find bugs fascinating, so I trapped it in a jar and set out to identify it, and find out if it bites – according to the posts in this blog, it does! I don’t know what they are feeding on here, as there aren’t many trees out where I am, but lots of scrubby sage and the like. Creepy looking critter, but very interesting!