Subject:  What is this bug – Beetle?
Geographic location of the bug:  Jalisco, Mexico
Date: 04/04/2021
Time: 11:56 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I found this guy in my garden. It’s size is what first caught my attention. I took it’s picture but did not, unfortunately take a measurement. It is about 8 to 10 times larger than an average Ladybug (which I thought it might be some giant species of at first). I wanted to find out if it was a beneficial insect or if it was going to do damage to my garden. No one I know seemed to know what it was from the picture (except a lot of people thought it was some kind of Ladybug as well). I did relocate it to a wild area near my house since I did not want to destroy it. Hopefully you can help me solve the mystery of it’s identity.
How you want your letter signed:  Mario L Pardillo

Shield Bug: Augocoris species

Dear Mario,
This is not a Beetle.  It is a True Bug in the family Scutelleridae, commonly called Shield Bugs or Jewel Bugs.  We believe based on images posted to ResearchGate and to iNaturalist that it is in the genus Augocoris, possibly Augocoris illustris.  That species is listed on BugGuide, though the individuals are highly variable, ranging from pure orange to pure white, and judging by this image of a mating pair on BugGuide, they are also sexually dimorphic.  The food plant listed on BugGuide is Chrysophyllum oliviforme, and regarding your concerns about it being damaging to your garden, we believe that as a native species, it has predators that will keep it in check and you should not worry unless you find large numbers on individual plants.

Shield Bug

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Subject:  Metallic Green w/ black pattern
Geographic location of the bug:  Taveuni, Fiji
Date: 03/27/2020
Time: 05:17 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Is this a jewel beetle? It had landed on this floating seed pod and had not quite tucked his wing away. My underwater camera was already set up for macro so I wiped the lens and shot topside.
Roughly about 2 cm. Segmented antennae. Hard shell. Small thorax.
How you want your letter signed:  Richard

Jewel Bug

Dear Richard,
This is not a Jewel Beetle in the family Buprestidae.  It is not a beetle at all.  This is a Shield Bug in the family Scutelleridae, and because of their often bright, metallic colors, they are sometimes commonly called Jewel Bugs.  So this is a Jewel Bug, not a Jewel Beetle.  We have not had much luck identifying the species, but we did locate a matching image on The Organic Bunny blog, but you have to scroll down to see the unidentified image.

Thank you so much! You are the best!
Richard Todd

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Subject:  Brown and Yellow Beetle?
Geographic location of the bug:  Central Mexico
Date: 03/20/2020
Time: 11:28 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hi WTB! I’ve looked high and low trying to identify this beetle(?) but have had no luck so far. I saw many of them on the leaves of plants in the fields near my house in Mexico. This was taken in September a few years back. It was in a canyon in the desert if that helps. Any ideas? Thanks!
How you want your letter signed:  Danny

Jewel Bug

Dear Danny,
This is not a Beetle.  It is a Shield Bug or Jewel Bug in the family Scutellaridae, and we identified it as Orsilochides scurrilis on Buggin’ Around.  It is also pictured on Naturalista.

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Subject:  bug identification
Geographic location of the bug:  northern Nevada
Date: 08/14/2019
Time: 01:18 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  These came in a couple of days ago and now they’re everywhere.
How you want your letter signed:  Harold

Immature Conchuela Bug

Dear Harold,
This is an immature Stink Bug called the Conchuela Bug, Chlorochroa ligata.  Here is an image from BugGuide.  According to BugGuide:  “prefers fleshy fruits of various plants, especially agarita, balsam-gourd and mesquite; also on sage, yucca, mustards, prickly pear (Opuntia), and various crops (cotton, alfalfa, corn, sorghum, grapes, peas, tomatoes, etc.); primarily a seed feeder preferring leguminous plants (once mesquite beans dry, the bugs move to more succulent plants). many observed, including likely eggs and nymphs, on allthorn (Koeberlinia spinosa).”

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Subject:  Round black beetle with white margin and 6 white spots on rear of abdomen
Geographic location of the bug:  Reno NV foothills 6000’ elevation
Date: 08/01/2019
Time: 02:00 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  These smallish round beatles have surprised us by coming into the house by the dozens.  Never saw them before. They are in scattered locations, mostly on the floor, and I don’t move much, but can move slowly or rather quickly if disturbed. I can’t figure out what they want or what they eat. Several are on the doorstep, anxious to come in if the door is opened.
They are round black beetles with white margin and 6 white spots on rear of abdomen.
How you want your letter signed:  Carolyn

Conchuela Stink Bug Nymph

Dear Carolyn,
This is not a Beetle.  It is an immature Stink Bug, and based on this BugGuide image, it is in the genus Chlorochroa, probably the Conchuela Stink Bug.  According to BugGuide:  “prefers fleshy fruits of various plants, especially agarita, balsam-gourd and mesquite; also on sage, yucca, mustards, prickly pear (Opuntia), and various crops (cotton, alfalfa, corn, sorghum, grapes, peas, tomatoes, etc.); primarily a seed feeder preferring leguminous plants (once mesquite beans dry, the bugs move to more succulent plants). “

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