Subject: The upper photo shows Megalodacne heros, while the lower photo depicts Megalodacne fasciata.

Location: Uphsur County, West Virginia for both.

Stock Number: H7437 for M. heros, 06-13386 for M. fasciata.

Comments: Two attractive species in the family Erotylidae, or Pleasing Fungus Beetles. These are the only two Nearctic species in the genus Megalodacne.

Differences between the two species? Megalodacne heros, shown in the top photo, is the larger of the two, measuring 18 to 21 mm in length, while Megalodacne fasciata (lower photo) measures only 9 to 15 mm.

As for elytral markings, the area to examine is the black rectangle that lies on the elytra where they meet the pronotum. On Megalodacne heros the orange color curves around, forming two sort of "C" shapes at the left and right of the black rectangle, with the orange color partly surrounding the black rectangle at left and right. On Megalodacne fasciata the orange does not curve around, or does so only slightly.

Also, on Megalodacne fasciata there is a round black spot on each each elytra near where it meets the pronotum. On Megalodacne fasciata this dot is present on each elytra but is often not so round in shape.

One final difference is that M. fasciata has rows of fine punctures on the wing covers (elytra) while M. heros does not.