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.”
¶ Posted 06 November 2011 § ‡ ° 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.
¶ Posted 11 July 2011 § ‡ ° 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.
2
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.“
¶ Posted 26 November 2010 § ‡ ° 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.“
¶ Posted 05 November 2010 § ‡ ° can anyone tell me what this is?
May 20, 2010
Hi, I found your site recently and have found it really interesting and informative. I live in Bulgaria and have become amazed by the amount of different bugs here. This could be the first of many insects that I need help identifying, it was in my garden today and is the first I have seen like this.
DJ
Bulgaria
Checkered Beetle
Dear DJ,
WE are quite certain that this is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, but we don’t know the species. BugGuide, one of our favorite sources of identification, has information on the family, including this description: “Body usually long and narrow, covered with bristly hairs and often marked with red, orange, yellow, or blue.“ We believe we have identified your Checkered Beetle as Clerus mutillarius on the BioLib website. According to the TrekNature website: “The beetle breeds under loose bark, mainly on conifer trees, where both adults and larvae feed on the grubs of other beetles, especially bark beetles.“ According to Wikipedia, Clerus mutillarius appeared on a postage stamp for the German Democratic Republic in 1968.
1
¶ Posted 21 May 2010 § ‡ ° Not a Lady Bug, but a ???
November 23, 2009, 5:52 PM
Found this beetle bug dying in our house today. I have noticed several of these beetles on the vinyl siding of our house, but this is the first one I have seen inside. We recently treated our carpets with pyrethrins as the kitty brought flees in with her. The pics were taken as the beetle was dying and penny added for scale.
A bit more info about our location. We are in central Kentucky and recently bought a house that backs up to a farm that has planted soy beans for the past two years.
Any help ID’ing this critter would be greatly appreciated as I want to make sure it is not a destructive type of pest.
Worried in KY
Central KY
Checkered Beetle
Found it!
6:04 PMNovember 23, 2009
Found the info about the beetle that came inside and died. It is a checkered beetle and I am assuming that since we had an ice storm last year they are feeding on the wood borers that are chewing on the dead wood in the tree line between our house and the soybean field. Thank you for your help!
Not Worried in KY
Central KY
Checkered Beetle
Dear Not Worried in KY, formerly Worried in KY,
We are thrilled to see that within 12 minutes, you correctly identified your Checkered Beetle on our website. More information on the Checkered Beetle family Cleridae can be found on BugGuide.
¶ Posted 24 November 2009 § ‡ ° Beautiful Red Beetle
July 15, 2009
I’ve seen these small active red beetles in Oklahoma woodlands all of my life, over 50 years, but never have identified them. They are very showy and run or fly readily to escape. They are active in the hottest times of the summer in the daytime. I found this one in mid-July in central Oklahoma on a 105 F degree-day. I’ve never seen them in groups only as singles. It’s about a third of an inch long.
K. Hopkins
Oklahoma, USA
Checkered Beetle
Dear K.,
We didn’t realize we were answering two of your letters back to back. This is a Checkered Beetle, Enoclerus ichneumoneus. You may find matching images on BugGuide. After opening five different large files for your photographs, the photo instructor in us feels compelled to tell you that you have a lot of visual noise. Try changing the sensitivity to light (ISO) or some other resolution factor which is causing your otherwise marvelous images to be degraded.
¶ Posted 15 July 2009 § ‡ ° 
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