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mystery cactus beetles
I took the attached photo in west Texas in May of last year. As you can see, there are several beetles, tan and black and about 1/2 inch apiece, and one slightly larger one, with what appears to be slightly lighter coloring (to the right of center in the photo). These were in a prickly pear cactus flower. All the flowers on that cactus had a similar set of beetles. Flowers on other nearby prickly pears sometimes had them, sometimes not. I did see them in some non- prickly pear flowers as well. Someone on flickr suggested the Harlequin Flower Beetle, but it looks different to me. Also these are smaller than the Harlequin, I think, and were definitely in groups. I didn’t see any loners, and as far as I can tell the Harlequins are usually seen singly? I’m curious not only about the species, but also the relationship between the smaller bugs and the larger one. Parent? Prey? Mate? Thanks! I love your site, as always.
Christina Holland

Hi Christina,
Though the coloration is similar to the Harlequin Flower Beetle, we agree that you have a smaller, different species. After much searching, we believe we have positively identified your beetles as Kern’s Flower Scarab, Euphoria kerni, thanks to images on BugGuide. “This species is extremely variable in its color and pattern ranging from all black to nearly all yellow with all stages in between” according to BugGuide, which should answer your question about the light beetle in your wonderful photo.

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