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Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Posted by June 29th, 2009 at 11:58 pm

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Pleasing Fungus Beetles

Black spots on a blue beetle
Sat, Jun 27, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Hi – We were at Windy Point on Mt Lemmon in Tucson AZ at the end of May and spotted (get it? spotted?) this handsome fellow. I have never seen anything like him before. Can you identify him? I didn’t see his wings.
Julie
Tucson AZ

pleasing fungus beetle 300x259 Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Hi Julie,
Your beetle is Gibbifer californicus, a Pleasing Fungus Beetle in the family Erotylidae.  The family members are known as Pleasing Fungus Beetles and your specimen does not have a more specific common name.  According to BugGuide, it “Southwestern United States: Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, south into Mexico ” and “Adults feed on nectar, pollen, and some fungi. Larvae feed on fungi that are attacking wood.”

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  1. From Day 7: Elements of the Earth Workshop (Day 3) « Christiandeleon’s Weblog on 30 Jul 2009 at 12:55 am

    [...] Since I am an amateur entomologist, I had to look it up.  Apparently, it is referred to as a Pleasing Fungus Beetle and according to Cecilia and Kim, it didn’t like cherries.  After we ate and talked, it [...]

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