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This insect flew into my house in Singapore while it was raining. Size is around 1.5 inches. What is this?

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    $\begingroup$ What we need: biology.stackexchange.com/tags/species-identification/info $\endgroup$
    – Rob
    Mar 23, 2019 at 3:46
  • $\begingroup$ My own "wish list" would include extreme close-ups (if possible) of the feet; the top photo suggests a "tarsal formula" of 5-5-4 (five segments in the front and middle feet, four segments in the hind), which would place this in the infraorder Cucujiformia (which group includes most of the beetles, so narrowing it that far isn't as much help as it could be). $\endgroup$
    – user32396
    Mar 26, 2019 at 0:13

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As a singaporean, I'd say this is a tenebrionid, probably one of the Strongylium sp, possibly Strongylium erythrocephalum. Most of the Strongylium species here tend to only be found in the forest, but this species in particular seems to occasionally be found in urban areas.

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Photo courtesy of Len Worthington, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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    $\begingroup$ Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. $\endgroup$
    – Community Bot
    Feb 21, 2022 at 6:50
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    $\begingroup$ Very nice find! Thanks, and added a photo. Hope that's ok. $\endgroup$ Feb 21, 2022 at 7:32
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This is a beetle Coleoptera, possibly from the family of the 'ground beetles' Carabidae
As this family is one of the most speciose animal families, pinpointing an exact species will be difficult, especially in the tropics. I think your specimen belongs to the genus of Carabus, they look similar as you can see on the picture from wikipedia commons below:
- Long legs.
- Often a distinct pattern of dots and stripes on the shields.
- Long antenna with many segments

EDIT: As @theforestecologist pointed out, the body shape more resembles the family of Meloidae. Most Meloidae don't have dots on the shield, but for example lytta does. https://bg.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Файл:Lytta_aenea.JPG

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  • $\begingroup$ Body/wing shape doesn't quite match many Carabidae. I was actually thinking the OP's specimen looked more like Meloidae. Lytta sayi which is found in North America is very similar, but I do not known Singapore insects well and thus do not know any relevant relatives -- a quick search didn't pull up any good choices. $\endgroup$ Mar 23, 2019 at 15:25
  • $\begingroup$ @theforestecologist Meloidae often do not have the dots on the shield, but you might be right about the body shape. Hmm, dunno. $\endgroup$
    – RHA
    Mar 23, 2019 at 16:32
  • $\begingroup$ @theforestecologist I did find any good choices either. I've edited my answer to reflect your doubt (and my own). Or should I remove the answer now? $\endgroup$
    – RHA
    Mar 23, 2019 at 16:56
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    $\begingroup$ I'd keep the answer, since our back-and-forth should be enough to inform others that this answer is not definitive. I think if you're actually doubtful as you indicate in your last comment, that you should edit your post further to make that uncertainty more explicit -- e.g., replace "it is" with "it possibly could be" or something similar...Perhaps someone more familiar with the fauna of Singapore can use this discussion as a jumping off point. Thanks. $\endgroup$ Mar 23, 2019 at 19:51

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