Bess Beetles

Family Passalidae

Patent-leather beetle (Odontotaenius disjunctus). Photo:Stephanie Boucher

Bess beetles are elongated, flat and shiny, and have a short horn on the front of the head that points forward. These beetles are found in colonies in decayed logs. The adults prepare the decaying wood with their salivary secretions to feed it to the young. Both the larvae and the adults produce a squeaking sound to communicate with each other. They also produce this sound when disturbed. This is mostly a tropical or subtropical family and there is only one species in eastern Canada.