AN ABACO INSECT IS BUGGING ME – WHAT IS THIS CREATURE?
There I was, walking slowly along the Delphi drive trying to locate some small chirruping bird in the coppice – close at hand, chatty, but invisible among the leaves. Then I saw this creature. It’s not an insect I have ever seen before, and I haven’t been able to find out what it is. It’s probably something elementary – an ‘Abaco Black Orange-Feeler Beetle’ – that is familiar to everyone. Except me. I’d just like to know. Any help out there? A response via the Comment box below would be appreciated!
This insect has some interesting features. The feelers are segmented, with 9 joints, so that in close-up the apparent smooth curve is not a perfect one but an articulated series of ‘straights’. It has 4 toes for gripping, and leg spines. It appears to be a voracious leaf-eater. And it can scratch its head. Overall, it looks aggressive and somewhat alien. Imagine if these things were the size of a potcake. Coming at you…
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
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Hi EST, thanks for the mention… ID now confirmed as something pretty scary and a great deal more sting-y than a bee (see https://rollingharbour.com/2012/08/09/spider-wasps-tarantula-hawks-dont-mess-with-these-guys/ ). Bees? Mo? Much in common – dedication, hard work, charming yet not to be messed with, pursuit of the ultimate prize, Gold…RH
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Hi ,
Could this be a black praying mantis? Great to see you both at Nassau as we left. Hope you had a great stay.
David
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Hi David, good to hear from you. Yes, a great stay thanks, and such a pity we didn’t all overlap for more than an hour at the airport! INSECT: VG idea – the head and leaf-gobbling equipment in particular. But I can’t find one with orange antennae like this. I’ve now contacted the BNT and they are passing it to their entomologist. Perhaps a unique variant – mantidae rollingharbourii? K
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