Identificaciones de jaykeller

This Atta texana colony used to be about 100 meter to the west at this road, but was poisoned in November 2020 at its former location by the highway department (see here https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65826122), and the colony then migrated to this new location here. Migrations of texana colonies are triggered by disturbances, like natural flooding or poisoning by humans.

observation UGM230113-30
elevation 109 meter

Saw this big (almost an inch long) black beetle on the ground under a porch light at midnight. Thought at first it was some kind of June beetle, but the golden hair makes me think most likely its a rain beetle of some kind. Though it hasn't rained in Southern California in months. There was a leak in the watering system, so maybe that made the ground wet enough to entice this guy out of his burrow.