Hook 2X long nymph/streamer hook (Montana Fly Company 7026), 14
Thread Black 14/0
Materials
Loco Foam, 2 mm (back and belly) Oil slick (2 pieces, one body-shaped back, one narrow belly strip)
Plain foam, 2 mm (volume underlay) Any plain foam mm (1 scrap strip)
Congo Hair and poly yarn (wing) White poly yarn (1 small clump)
Round rubber legs Black ostrich herl (2 strands)
Super Bright dubbing Peacock ice dub (1 short noodle)
Super glue Clear head cement (As needed)
How to tie it
Mount a size 14 2X-long hook and start black 14/0 thread, running it back to the bend.
Cut the back from Loco Foam with a beetle body cutter. Tie it in at the bend with the shiny side down, using only the small rear tab. This stuff tears easily, so go gently and do not let the thread cut it.
Tie a scrap strip of plain 2 mm foam on top of the shank and bind it down from front to back leaving small bubbles between the wraps. This adds volume to the top of the beetle without stealing hook gap.
Cut a narrow strip of the same Loco Foam for the belly and carve most of the foam away from the back of it so it adds no bulk underneath.
Rotate the hook and tie the belly strip on underneath, pinch the foam, get the thread around it, and keep clear of the hook point. Retrace your thread wraps through the same bubble positions, then pinch and secure the front and trim the excess.
Work a little super glue in with a bodkin along the belly and squeeze it together, then a bit more into the body itself. Give it a moment to set.
Put a touch of super glue on top, pull the Loco Foam back forward over the body, tie it down with a couple of wraps, and squeeze it together to set.
Build a small thread base at the front for the wing and legs. Tie in a small clump of white poly yarn and Congo Hair on the near side with five or six really tight wraps, then pull the tag end around the far side of the hook to form the wing on that side too. Trim it just longer than the body.
Tie in a black round rubber leg on each side, trap the leg under your finger over the thread, then grab the tag ends and pull it into position, two wraps a side.
Spin a noodle of peacock Super Bright dubbing and wrap it to clean up the tie-in area where the legs and wing meet.
Bring the thread underneath, take a couple of wraps, and set a few half hitches under the head of the beetle. Cut the thread.
Trim the head of the beetle back a little and even up the legs front and back, coaxing the legs and wing into finally getting along.