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Checkered Beetle

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Subject:  Weird biting insect
Geographic location of the bug:  Southeast Nebraska
Date: 11/21/2017
Time: 12:17 PM EDT
What the heck is this? It was in my house and latched onto my boyfriend’sneck when he tried to brush it away. It was not a painful bite but it did latch on.
How you want your letter signed:  Karen Heusinkvelt

Checkered Beetle

Dear Karen,
This is a Checkered Beetle, and they are not dangerous to humans.  Based on this BugGuide image, we suspect it is either Enoclerus vetus or a related species in the same genus.  According to BugGuide:  “larvae and adults are predacious; adults may feed on pollen, some species are attracted to carrion and ‘stored animal products.'”

Thank you! I posted the picture on Facebook and nobody around here had ever seen one. Thanks again!

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle with Red Turpentine Beetles

On · Category: Bark Beetles and Bark Gnawing Beetles, Checkered Beetles · Add Comment

Subject: Black Hairy Insect nesr White Pine Beetles
Location: California in Sequoia
March 19, 2017 6:43 am
Cannot identify the hairy black and white insect on this pine tree. The two pine beetles I could identify. This is taken at Wishon Camlground near Doyle Springs/Sequoia, in California.
Signature: Emily

Checkered Beetle and Red Turpentine Beetles

Dear Emily,
We believe your Pine Beetles are Red Turpentine Beetles, Dendroctonus valens, a species pictured on BugGuide and found in California.  According to BugGuide:  “Primary host: Pinus.”  Your unidentified beetle is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae.  A similar looking species is the Red Bellied Clerid Beetle, Enoclerus sphegeus, which is pictured on BugGuide.  According to BugGuide, the species if found in California.  Of the Checkered Beetle family, BugGuide notes:  “predaceous on other insects, larvae mostly on wood- and cone-borers; some adults feed on pollen; a few species are scavengers” so it is possible that the Checkered Beetle you found was preying on the adults and larvae of the Red Turpentine Beetles.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle from Australia

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Subject: It’s watching me…
Location: Sydney, Australia
November 6, 2016 8:22 pm
Hi Bugman,
Found this little specimen buzzing around my bedroom this morning, I assume it flew it the back door when I had it open.
It’s about 30mm long
Any help with an ID would be great, as I have never seen anything like it in the garden before.
Thanks
Signature: Mark

Checkered Beetle

Checkered Beetle

Dear Mark,
This is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, but we are not certain of the species.  It looks similar to Scrobiger albocinctus which is pictured on the Brisbane Insect site where it states:  “The beetle has large eyes and bright yellow antenna. Its large and strong mandible suggested it is a predator. Its wing covers are black in colour with pink at the back, separated by a white line across. This beetle was found on gum leaf in Karawatha Forest during mid summer. The beetle was walking on leaves and stems, waving its antenna, seemed searching for something. The beetle was slow moving and did not quite response to our interrupt. ”  It also resembles Trogodendron fasciculatum which is pictured on Csiro.  

Checkered Beetle

Checkered Beetle

Never mind!
Its this guy –> http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Yellow-horned-Clerid/Trogodendron/fasciculatum.html
Thanks

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle Carnage

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Subject: Never seen a bug like this in my 32yrs.
Location: Northern illinois
July 23, 2016 8:33 pm
At first glance I thought it was an ant….and so did my 3yr old who was freaking out yelling about it climbing on the chair in the house by her.
We live in northern Illinois. Its hot, and humid currently.
After killing said big I looked at it and realized its like no ant I’ve seen before. In fact I’ve never seen this bug before. I’ve searched the depths of the internet high and low trying to identify it.
I think it may be a beetle of some sort?
It is the only one we have seen here at home.
Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated!
Signature: Amber Johnson

Checkered Beetle Carnage

Checkered Beetle Carnage

Dear Amber,
This is a beneficial Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, and we believe we might have correctly identified it as Enoclerus ichneumoneus thanks to images posted to BugGuide.  Of the family, BugGuide notes:  “predaceous on other insects, larvae mostly on wood- and cone-borers; some adults feed on pollen; a few species are scavengers.”  We hope that should you encounter a Checkered Beetle in the future, you would not allow your child’s “freaking out yelling” to cause another incident of what we consider to be Unnecessary Carnage.  We shudder to think of the carnage that would occur if every parent quickly dispatched every creature that ever caused a child to cry, be it a beetle, a baby deer or a person who might just appear to be different.

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Checkered Beetle

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Subject: Mystery beetle in our house
Location: Seattle, WA
March 21, 2016 10:35 pm
Hello,
I am hoping you can help identify these black orange beetles that suddenly appeared in our house. We’re not sure who they are or where they came from. They appeared recently (March) and can be found on walls, furniture, or ceilings. Thank you!
PS> the one in the photo got squished a little during the capture 🙁
Signature: Kira

Checkered Beetle

Checkered Beetle

Dear Kira,
We believe we have correctly identified your Checkered Beetle as Enoclerus cupressi based on this BugGuide image.  The genus page on BugGuide states the habitat is “Woodland; found under bark, in galls, around woody plants, rarely on foliage” and the food is “Both larvae and adults are generally predacious. Some adults feed on pollen, some species are attracted to carrion and ‘stored animal products.'”  Since you have found numbers of them in your home, we suspect they may be feeding on a dead animal in the walls or perhaps some “stored animal products” are the cause of their appearance.  The Checkered Beetles are not a problem, but their presence may be a symptom of something that may need attention.

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Checkered Beetle from Canada

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Subject: What is this bug.
Location: Ontario, Canada
November 17, 2015 12:17 pm
We have found a couple of these in our house… wondering what it is
Signature: Krysten

Checkered Beetle

Checkered Beetle

Dear Krysten,
We believe this is a Checkered Beetle in the family Cleridae, but we are unable to find a visual match on BugGuide.  It somewhat resembles the Red Bellied Clerid, Enoclerus nigripes rufiventris, pictured on Birding New Burnswick or Enoclerus sphegeus pictured on Bold Systems Taxonomy.  Heading back to BugGuide, we found the latter to be listed as the Red Bellied Clerid.  We will contact Eric Eaton to get his opinion.

Eric Eaton Confirms Checkered Beetle Identification
Hi, Daniel:
Yes, a checkered beetle in the genus Enoclerus.  Not sure of the species.  Jacques Rifkind is an expert on these but I forget how to get in touch with him.
Eric

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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination