Golden Beetle
I just found a beetle that looks very similar to a June beetle but is more pale golden in color and does not have long antennae. It’s topside looks somewhat like the Hercules or Unicorn beetle without the spots. It also has somewhat of a tiny triangular shape at the top intersection of its wings and its head somewhat like the Eastern Hercules Beetle has. It is kind of shiny as though the body is armored. I have drawn a picture of it but the picture does not really do it justice as the green you see on its wings and behind the head is more of a dotted green hue instead of stark lines. In fact I just looked at it again and the color behind the head where you see the two brown blobs is morelike two B’s, very lightly brownish hued, facing each other The white dots you see represent the shine on it. When flipped over, it is ribbed and looks more the color of a brown colored honey or horehound and its legs have somewhat fuzzy hairs on the outside edges while the chest section is fuzzy (somewhat like a bee is fuzzy). It also seems to be somewhat fuzzy under the lower portion of the wings. The hind legs get lighter at the upper portion of the leg. The undertail section is more closely ribbed than the upper section. Centered between its second set of legs and back legs is somewhat of a diamond shape with a line going through the center of the diamond (Head Tail). Your help in identifying this beetle would be tremendously appreciated!
Sincerely, Diana Isham, Grantsburg Wisconsin
Hi Diana.
We got another letter from New Hampshire reporting a similar beetle. We have decided it is probably Cotalpa lanigera which is approximately an inch long and entirely yellow with a metallic luster. It occurs near catalpa trees. It could be your beetle.
Thank you my friend! I looked up Cotalpa lanigera and thought momentarily that it might be it because it looks very much like it but its wings also looked too white. I then did a bit of research, found it on the following website and was delighted to find a lovely photo of my beetle just below Catalpa lanigera. It is called Cotalpa consobrina and is a native Arizonan like myself! I am so amazed! I lived in Arizona for the first 15 years of my life and never saw one of these! And now I’m wondering if it’s a native only in Arizona, and if so, how did it end up here in Wisconsin?
Hi Diana,
We haven’t been able to locate any information on the extent of the range of Cotalpa consobrina.