Your descriptive account of their crash landings brought to my mind an incident from over 50 years ago. I was sitting in a pub, near Conway North Wale, when in flew what appeared to be a flying dustbin lid, crashing into bottles and glasses behind the bar. Identical to yours. It was a Dytiscus beetle, check it out on the internet, I think you will agree. My wife says that we have them in Madeira, but I do not recall seeing them. Rhino Beetles we also see on occasions.
What we call Vaca Pretas are very different to your insect, they are a black centipede, which is seen in profusion after rain, crawling up house walls etc.
A couple of weeks ago you mentioned espumante and looking for a nice variety. Try Fita Azul (Blue Ribbon) Reserva Bruto, but also available in meio seco 12% ,. Costs less than €5 when on promotion at the supermarket. Produced in the caves de Borges, Gondomar, perto de Porto. Most importantly a nice drink , refrescante.
The beetles look a bit like a Cockchafer.. If you google them you'll see a black species that look very similar to your photos. We get them in the UK but they're the brown ones. First time I saw one was a few years ago when it came buzzing into our lounge one evening and crashed into a mirror. Never seen them before but they're quite common apparently! Good luck..
It's called t'turbot in Wensleydale, obviously!
Boa tarde Alastair
The Beetles!
Your descriptive account of their crash landings brought to my mind an incident from over 50 years ago. I was sitting in a pub, near Conway North Wale, when in flew what appeared to be a flying dustbin lid, crashing into bottles and glasses behind the bar. Identical to yours. It was a Dytiscus beetle, check it out on the internet, I think you will agree. My wife says that we have them in Madeira, but I do not recall seeing them. Rhino Beetles we also see on occasions.
What we call Vaca Pretas are very different to your insect, they are a black centipede, which is seen in profusion after rain, crawling up house walls etc.
A couple of weeks ago you mentioned espumante and looking for a nice variety. Try Fita Azul (Blue Ribbon) Reserva Bruto, but also available in meio seco 12% ,. Costs less than €5 when on promotion at the supermarket. Produced in the caves de Borges, Gondomar, perto de Porto. Most importantly a nice drink , refrescante.
Cheers e até a proxima.
DB.
Thanks for your thoughts on the beetles David...and the heads up on Fits Azul Reserva Bruto...we shall give it a try!
The beetles look a bit like a Cockchafer.. If you google them you'll see a black species that look very similar to your photos. We get them in the UK but they're the brown ones. First time I saw one was a few years ago when it came buzzing into our lounge one evening and crashed into a mirror. Never seen them before but they're quite common apparently! Good luck..
Thanks Tim...and thanks to my former Geography prof at Manchester Uni we have an answer...
Dear Alastair,
Professor David Shimwell asked me to identify your black beetles. They
are from the Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab beetles) and from the Subfamily
Cetoniinae (flower and fruit chafers).
Your species appears to be Potosia opaca, a fascinating species that
apparently steals honey from beehives. It has been found around the
Mediterranean region but there do not appear to be many records from
Portugal.
I hope that this is of some value.
Kind regards,
Peter Sutton
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Sutton-3
https://www.britishwildlife.com/contributor/peter-sutton