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Checkered Beetle from France

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Subject: Wondering if this is a spider
Location: Dordogne,France
April 25, 2013 6:18 am
Dear WTB,
I took this picture in my kitchen before putting it in the garden- it looks like it could nip. It was probably staying out of the sun. I cant say I’ve seen one here ever -France. It is about 1-1.5 cm in length. It looks like venom from spiderman , maybe the inspiration. Thanks
Signature: Alan Harvey

Checkered Beetle

Checkered Beetle

Dear Alan,
This is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, not a spider.  According to BugGuide, Checkered Beetles are:  “predaceous on other insects, larvae mostly on wood- and cone-borers; some adults feed on pollen; a few species are scavengers.”  Your Checkered Beetle looks somewhat similar to this image of Thanasimus formicarius from FlickR.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle

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Subject: Orange Bug on Tulip Poplar
Location: Great Falls, VA
November 13, 2012 3:48 pm
I noticed recently that some of the large branches on a 150+ year old tulip poplar have been debarked. This is in northern virginia.
Yesterday, i found a number of ant-like insects on the tree. They have 6 legs and seem to have two defined body segments.
If you look at the insect from tail to head, it has a bright orange behind, a black horizontal stripe, and an orange top to the main body. The head is reddish orange. The legs are black.
I’d like to find out what kind of insect this is. I’ve never seen anything like it. The closest thing i can find is a cow killer, but those are furry. This is smoothe with no real fur.
Thanks for your help.
Signature: john marciano

Checkered Beetle

Hi John,
This little beauty is a Checkered Beetle, possibly Enoclerus ichneumoneus.  Checkered Beetles are not damaging your tree, and they are most likely feeding on insects that might be negatively impacting the health of the tree.  According to BugGuide:  “predaceous on other insects, larvae mostly on wood- and cone-borers; some adults feed on pollen; a few species are scavengers.” 

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Moth Night In Elyria Canyon Park

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Location:  Mount Washington, Los Angeles, CA
July 21, 2012
As a prelude to National Moth Week, the Mount Washington Homeowners Alliance partnered with What’s That Bug? by hosting a Moth Night in Elyria Canyon Park on the weekend before the official start of National Moth Week in order to accommodate the busy schedules of hosts Julian Donahue and Daniel Marlos.  Since National Moth Week is about moths and diversity, we took this opportunity to educate those in attendance about the wealth of nocturnal life in Elyria Canyon Park.  Julian, Kathy, Lauri and Daniel arrived just before 7 PM and opened the gate so that visitors could take advantage of the event by driving into an area that is normally closed to motor vehicles.  Setting up for the event involved getting power to three distinct sites for attracting moths with different light sources:  black or ultraviolet bulbs, incandescent bulbs and mercury vapor bulbs, and these preparations were made before sunset.

Anise Swallowtail Caterpillar displaying osmeterium

Just as Julian finished setting up the black light he was running off his vehicle battery, the first guest walked up.  Darlene from Torrance had arrived before us and while checking out the life in the park, she discovered the Caterpillar of an Anise Swallowtail as well as three eggs on the wild fennel.  Darlene, an avid fan of insects, continued to capture creatures in her viewing box and her most notable finds of the day and night included a Flower Fly larva, a female Bush Katydid, a mating pair of invasive exotic African Painted Bugs, a Checkered Beetle and a winged male Sand Cockroach.  Young Julian captured a specimen of Arboreal Click Beetle with unusual feathered antennae.

The early arrivals for Moth Night approximately 8 PM

The earliest folks to arrive got a quick tour of the beginnings of the butterfly garden that the beautification committee is planting thanks to a generous grant from the North American Butterfly Association (NABA).  Gathering folks together for a group photo is kind of like trying to herd cats, but we did manage to get a few organized group shots of most of the people who arrived just before sunset.  Julian began by giving an overview of moths, their place in the ecosystem, how to attract them and then took questions from the eager crowd.  People continued to explore the park on their own while there was still light and the youngsters started catching insects in the bottles that were provided so that they could be identified.  Refreshments were provided by MWHA Hospitality VP Susanne Brody.

Folks begin to hunt for insects and other small creatures

A skunk wandered from the nursery behind the red barn into the meadow just as darkness began to fall and this generated quite a bit of excitement.  Then the moths and other insects began to arrive to the various light sources that were designed to attract them.

Black Light and Incandescent Light area

Julian explained earlier that the best nights for mothing with lights are warm, humid, calm and moonless.  Alas, the only desirable condition we had was the fact that there was a new moon.  A slight breeze and cooler conditions prevailed, but we were still graced with a variety of geometrids, pyralids, noctuids, tortricids, acrolophids, and tineids as well as some interesting beetles, mayflies and lacewings.  Fun was had by all of the approximately 35 people who attended Moth Night in Elyria Canyon Park.

Collecting around the mercury vapor bulb

 

 

 

 

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle

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Bug
Location: Wittmann, AZ 85361
November 6, 2011 1:07 pm
Hi
We found this bug in our house in Mobile Gardens in Wittmann, Arizona. We have tried to identify it with no luck. My son took the picture and then let it free outside. This would have been around mid October, 2011.
Signature: Ken Matchett

Checkered Beetle

Hi Ken,
Our initial impression was that this is a Checkered Beetle, and upon researching on BugGuide, we have confirmed that suspicion, and we believe it might be Enoclerus quadrisignatus.  According to BugGuide, the species is “Highly variable” and “Ferocious predators of wood boring beetles.”

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle

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black beetle with long yellow spots
Location: Colorado Mountains Eastern Slope 8500 feet
July 11, 2011 3:28 pm
This beetle is on a wild potentilla (cinquefoil) plant in our forest on the eastern slope of the Colorado Rockies at 8500 feet. I thought it looked similar to a cucumber beetle, but I don’t believe that’s what it is. Can you help me with an identification?
Signature: Eric Christensen

Checkered Beetle

Hi Eric,
We wish your photo depicted the antennae.  We are nearly certain that this is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, and it might be the highly variable Ornate Checkered Beetle, Trichodes ornatus.  This individual on BugGuide has very subtle spotting like your individual and this example from BugGuide even more so.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle (or possibly False Blister Beetle) from Australia

On · Category: Checkered Beetles, False Blister Beetles Tagged With: · 4 Comments

australian sparkly bug
Location: Victoria, Australia
December 26, 2010 8:21 pm
hi, thanks for the great site. Here’s a bug from Victoria, Australia (outer northeastern suburbs of Melbourne). It’s the sparkliest bug I’ve ever seen but I have no idea what it is!
Signature: Ophelia

Checkered Beetle

Hi Ophelia,
Our initial search of the Insects of Brisbane website did not produce any potential identification, but we will continue to research this query.  Your beetle somewhat resembles the Checkered Beetles in the family Cleridae, so we are linking to the Superfamily Cleroidea on BugGuide.  This really is a pretty little beetle.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide some assistance.

Update:
Mardikavana who frequently assists in the identification of Beetles, has provided a comment indicating that this is a False Blister Beetle in the family Oedemeridae.  BugGuide has information on the family.  The Brisbane Insect website indicates that the family are known as Pollen Feeding Beetles.  The Life Unseen website does not identify this species among the members of the family Oedemeridae that are represented on the site.

wow – thanks for the quick reply. I’d never seen anything quite so
sparkly in beetle form.  I’m in Victoria rather than brisbane, way
down south-east.
Best,
Ophelia

Update: January 5, 2010
A new comment just arrived that contradicts the False Blister Beetle identification and which agrees with our initial Checkered Beetle ID.  We found a link on Flickr (and a second on Flickr) that supports the Checkered Beetle ID as well as a different species from the genus on Oz Animals.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle

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What is this?
Location: cocoa, fl
November 26, 2010 12:10 am
We found this the other day and it looks kinda like an ant of some sort then it flew away…
Signature: huh?

Checkered Beetle

Dear huh?,
You encountered a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, and it appears to be Enoclerus ichneumoneus based on an image we matched on BugGuide.  The family page on BugGuide contains this information:  “predaceous on other insects, larvae mostly on wood- and cone-borers; some adults feed on pollen; a few species are scavengers.“

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle

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Odd Striped Ant
Location: Upstate NY
November 4, 2010 3:34 am
I found this little ant-like creature crawling up the inside of my pants. Felt like it might have bit me but it could have just been his/her jagged legs.
Any idea on what this insect is?
Signature: Jillian

Checkered Beetle

Hi Jillian,
You have had a close encounter with a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, and it appears as though it is Thanasimus dubius according to images posted to BugGuide.  The family page on BugGuide offers this information:  “predaceous on other insects, larvae mostly on wood- and cone-borers; some adults feed on pollen; a few species are scavengers.“

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination