The Ant-nest Beetle is a small, robust scarab that lives exclusively inside ant nests, tolerated by the ants because of special glands on its thorax that produce secretions the ants consume. While exploiting the nest's warmth and food, the beetle's larvae feed on ant brood. This remarkable ant-beetle mutualism involves complex chemical mimicry.
Not certain it is a Ant-nest Beetle? What bug is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
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