Subject: what’s this insect?
Geographic location of the bug: West Coast South Africa
Date: 08/13/2019
Time: 09:43 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: So I found this insect outside my home, I’ve never seen anything like it. I hope you can let me know what type of insect it is so I can do more research about it. Thank you.
How you want your letter signed: L.S.
Dear L.S.,
This is a Jewel Beetle in the genus Julodis, and we believe it is the Brush Jewel Beetle, Julodis hirsuta subsp. hirsuta. The species is pictured on iNaturalist, but there is no information about the beetle. Many species in the genus are pictured on Virtual Beetle, and we would not entirely rule out that your individual might be Julodis cirrosa or Julodis mira syn. sulcicollis.