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New One for Me
Last summer while camping in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Icehouse Reservoir), I came across a bug I’ve never seen up there before. I think it was about an inch long and just sat there calmly while I circled around it taking pictures. When it finally flew away, it made a loud, low pitched buzzing sound, and the back legs hung down in a way that reminded me of the way a wasp flies. I am dying to know what this thing is, I’ve never seen anything remotely like it. Thank you so much!
Jessie

Hi Jessie,
We believe this is a Long Horned Borer, but we are going to get an expert opinion from Eric Eaton. Eric quickly wrote back: ” The beetle from California is a cerambycid, believe it or not! It is the Lion Beetle, Ulochaetes leoninus. I understand they are convincing bumble bee mimics in flight, and are typically found at fairly high elevations in alpine meadows.”

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