Subject: What is this bug?
Location: Southbury ct
June 11, 2013 12:07 pm
Dear bugman, I found these cool black & orange bugs this week out back on a fungus. They were 1/2 – 3/4 inches long. The color caught our eye immediately. what is this bug? Also, if you look closely at the picture you can also see small larva / baby bugs in the background. Are the big bugs feasting on the small ones? Could this fungus be their nest? Thanks!!!!!
Signature: Liz

Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Dear Liz,
This beauty is a Pleasing Fungus Beetle in the family Erotylidae and the genus Megalodacne.  We cannot ascertain if it is Megalodacne heros, which is larger, or Megalodacne fasciata.  According to BugGuide:  “Larvae feed on bracket fungi. Adults overwinter under bark, often in groups.”  The larvae are grubs, and we believe that may be a larva visible in the photo you supplied.

Pleasing Fungus Beetle

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Subject: Strange bug nest
Location: Modesto, California
August 13, 2012 8:39 pm
Hello! I was outside walking my dog and saw what I thought was throw up. I took a closer look and realized it was not throw up, but a strange nest. When poked with a stick, the stick broke due to how tough this stuff was. When poked with a more DURABLE stick, a white liquid came out (but the stick eventually snapped). What might this all be? What type of bugs?
Signature: Kate

Pleasing Fungus Beetles

Hi Kate,
This is a most curious submission, and we are going to get a second opinion from Eric Eaton.  This is not a nest.  It is a fungus and the beetles are Pleasing Fungus Beetles.  The curious thing is your location in Modesto, California.  We are nearly certain that these Pleasing Fungus Beetles are in the genus Megalodacne as evidenced by the photos posted to BugGuide, however, Bugguide states:  “Two Nearctic species” are found in “Eastern United States and Canada.”  BugGuidereports them as far west as Texas.  We can’t help but wonder which of the following possibilities is the solution.  Perhaps there is an undiscovered west coast species, or perhaps the range of one of the two eastern species is much greater than originally supposed, or perhaps they were somehow introduced, either accidentally or naturally through range expansion.  Further research led us to the FSCA Coleoptera site that states:  “There are two species of this genus occurring in the eastern United States, and a record of a potenitally [sic] establishment in California.”  We will contact Paul E. Skelley who is posted that statement with your sighting.  HGTV states:  “Megalodacne fasciata, which is smaller and has slightly different markings on its back, has been seen throughout most of the East and Midwest, plus California.”

Pleasing Fungus Beetles

Paul Skelley Responds
Daniel,
Megalodacne fasciata was first reported in California by Kitayama (See Attachment:  Kitayama 1986-New Distribution for Megalodacne fasciata). Since my page on the web was posted long ago, I have seen several other specimens from several other Californian localities. Megalodacne fasciata appears to be established. Megalodacne species prefer bracket fungi that are “soft” when fresh and growing, but which turn very hard as they mature. Your reader’s photo appears to be a Ganodera sp., bracket fungus, but I am not familiar with the western species.
Paul

Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
Yes, Art Evans features Megalodacne fasciata in his Field Guide to Beetles of California.  He says they are most active at night, so a daytime image would be something somewhat unusual.
Eric

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Bug on Mushroom on down Oak Tree
Location: Memphis, TN
June 5, 2011 2:46 pm
Mr. Bugman,
These little critters are all over a downed oak tree in my yard. As you can see, the white part is mushrooms growing on the tree. The bugs are primarily on the mushrooms, but are on other part of the tree as well.
Signature: David Gordon

Pleasing Fungus Beetles, we believe

Hi David,
We believe these are Pleasing Fungus Beetles in the family Erotylidae (see BugGuide), but we cannot make out enough detail in your image to be certain.  They most resemble the BugGuide images of Ischyrus quadripunctatus, but we cannot make out the identifying four spots in your photo.

Daniel,
Thank you so much. I didn’t really need a genus, I just really needed to make sure they weren’t “harmful” like ticks or something I needed to make an effort to get rid of them.  If they are beetles, from what I understand, they are beneficial and I will leave them to live their lives in peace.
Thank you again,
David

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costa rican beetle
March 28, 2010
This beetle was in the InBioParque in San Jose, Costa Rica last summer. It crawled to the sunny ends of branches and twigs. I only saw it by itself. Do you know what kind of beetle this is?
Thanks!
Jenny
costa Rica, San Jose, InBioParque

Pleasing Fungus Beetle

Hi again Jenny,
This is our final response for the night.  This is a Pleasing Fungus Beetle.  It bears a striking resemblance to Gibbifer californicus, the only species in the genus found in the U.S. according to BugGuide.  We posted a member of the genus from Costa Rica in 2007.  We searched for internet coverage of the genus from Costa Rica, and found a photo of a specimen on the La Anita Rainforest Ranch website that seems to look very similar to your individual, though we believe it is incorrectly identified as Gibbifer californicus.

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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

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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Blue beetle
I found this in Flagstaff, AZ, while I was on a hike. It was on an Aspen tree. I’ve never seen a beetle like this before. Can you tell me what it is?
Molly

Hi Molly,
When we first received your letter, we couldn’t immediately identify your Pleasing Fungus Beetle, but we remembered the photo. Today, while researching larvae of the Pleasing Fungus Beetles, family Erotylidae, we stumbled upon photos of the adult Gibbifer californicus on BugGuide, and it matches your submission. So, after three weeks, we have an answer for you and we apologize for the delay.

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