two-toner
Location: Jamestown, RI
August 22, 2011 3:06 pm
This little guy was visiting the mountain mint 8/19/11.
Signature: PeeGee
Wedge Shaped Beetle
Dear PeeGee,
At first we thought this looked like a Tumbling Flower Beetle in the family Mordellidae, but when we couldn’t find a match on BugGuide, we broadened our search, and eventually identified it as a Wedge Shaped Beetle, Macrosiagon dimidiata, which we found on BugGuide where this information is provided: “Adults said to like to feed on Mountain-mint, Pycnanthemum spp.(1) Larvae, like other members of the genus, are parasitoids of Hymenoptera.” BugGuide expands on that with this remark: “Females lay eggs on flowers, larvae hitch a ride from one of its hosts (Hymenoptera) and parasitize the brood.” We are creating a brand new Beetle subcategory to house your submission.
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