BESS BEETLE

also called Bess-bug, Betsy Bug, or Horned Passalus Beetle (family Passalidae), any of approximately 800 species of insects found mainly in the tropics but also in North America (e.g., Passalus cornutus) and characterized by their large size, ranging between 30 and 40 mm (1.2 and 1.6 inches) in length. Because of their shiny black wing covers (elytra), they are sometimes called patent-leather beetles. They are rather flat and squarish with a horn that points forward on the top of the head. Bess beetles live together under the bark of decaying logs in a primitive social organization. Both the male and female process the food (decaying wood) and feed it to the larvae. Similar sharing of work between males and females occurs only in termite societies. Bess beetle adults and larvae communicate by sounds that are audible to humans. The adult rubs its wings across rough patches on the abdomen, and the larva rubs its vestigial (degenerate) hind pair of legs against its middle legs.