[Lori]

djacko it is exciting. Wonder what it was? What a pity she didn't get a photo! Maybe it was what Jan saw in her post in the Se1 forum under my topic 'Mystery Box'.

It isn't my beetle though, mine wasn't the least bit shiny. It was charcoal black.

I took a break from trawling through beetle sites as I was all beetled out. What keeps sticking in my mind is that although I was very young the first time I saw it I didn't recognise it as a beetle at all. I couldn't figure out what it was.. thats why I called my mother to look at it.

The second sighting was when a group of kids were looking at the beetle. I'm sure the only reason they hadn't kicked it around before I got there was that it was so bizarre that their curiosity or discussion as to what it was saved it.

The last time, when I was an adult, a man stopped to look. He didn't know what to make of it but thought it nightmarish whatever it was.

My point is that I bet if you showed a group of 5 year olds a beetle of almost any sort they'd recognise it as such or at the very least, an insect of some sort. I didn't, yet I had already driven my parents to distraction with my interest in what they called creepy crawlies.

I have almost given up, but will still chase down any lead in the hopes that the creature still exists. Please keep an eye out for anything promising that pops up, its very much appreciated.