I found this ugly critter scurrying across my carpet this morning and I want to know if it is a termite. Are there any entomology experts out there that can lend me a hand?

I've checked out a few pest control sites and I think it looks like termites but I can't be sure. Any help is appreciated!

http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B%3B9...67%3C534ot1lsi

<font color=cccccc>Em, em, too bad I already had desert. Bug? Yes. Ugly? Yes. Termite? Does not appear to meet the criteria. Here Check for yourself. But no wings, and the anteenae? sprout from a different location. Just boil in hot fudge for 3 minutes, wash down with a glass of milk.</font>

http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/en...s/earwigs.html

perhaps an immature earwige or one that lost it's pincers. this is the closest i could find and from the earwigs i've seen i wouldn't have thought it.

It could be a carpenter ant, it kind of looks like an ant...

It's a Staring Frog from Southern Sri Lanka. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Is it fairly small? Termites in the US are quite small (about 1/8 inch). Actually, it does look like it could be a termite close to it's winged stage. It may have lost it's wings or it may be ready to sprout them. It's about the time of year for them to migrate. If your house is infested, you will see a lot of them. If you don't, it's just probably a straggler from somewhere else.

A weevil? It's looks kinda similar to the little bug that I found inside the jar of rice.

Actually it is nearly an inch long so it seems to be too big to be a termite. The thing is it looks a lot like photos of king termites that a friend of mine found on the net.

I found another one tonight - they are not happy to be sharing the same tupperware prison together. ;)

I haven't found any obvious termite damage yet so here's to hoping that they aren't wood eaters...

If you've got them in a container, you might take them to a local exterminator and ask them what it is. They'll be happy to tell you... and tell you if you need to get worried about it.

I just got a reply from a friend of a friend who is an amateur entomologist.
Here's what he says:

"Nice photo. Your bug is Ocypus olens, a beetle of the
family Staphylinidae. Its other name is the Devil's
Coach Horse. No relation to termites, it eats snails
and slugs and their eggs, so it's basically on our
side. It's not a native species, but was introduced
from Europe, probably along with the most common snail
we have in gardens here. Ocypus normally lives
outdoors, but I see them in houses sometimes in wet
weather.

A good resource for info on common bugs is California
Insects by J. Powell and C. Hogue, published by Univ
of Calif Press. It has pictures of Ocypus and lots of
its friends."

Devil's Coach Horse - I like it.

Thanks for all your help!