Mating Leaf Beetles: Calligrapha verrucosa

bugman

May 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am

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Beige Bug Nookie
Wed, May 27, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Greetings!
I decided to head down to the river today to see what bugs I could dig up and I found this amorous couple having a lovely time on a branch. It was very windy, but they didn’t seem to mind.
The (female?) on the bottom finally got perturbed with me & started to move, but as her lover wasn’t about to take off, it nearly made me giggle – she was going very slow, and it didn’t look like she was slow by choice.
They’re extremely colourful (if not clashing a tad with those red legs!), but they posed nicely for me and I’ve sent 2 clips along to you.
Enjoy! And hopefully, you’ll be able to tell me what they are.
Janet
On the shores of the Oldman River, near Taber. Alberta, Canada.

Mating Leaf Beetles

Dear Janet,
Your pair is Calligrapha verrucosa, a species of Leaf Beetle without a common name. According to BugGuide, they feed on the leaves of willow. All of the photos posted to BugGuide were from Saskatchewan.