found a beautiful bug, but can’t find it anywhere.
April 11, 2010
Hey!
My husband and I were out off roading in Southern New Mexico today and came across this little guy running across the road. The bright metallic blue/green caught our eyes… He was a fast little booger, and really didn’t want his picture taken. We think it’s a beetle of some kind, but not sure.
Cecilia
Southern New Mexico
Hi Cecilia,
We couldn’t help but to immediately read your letter because of the subject line. This beauty is a Desert Spider Beetle or Black Bladder-Bodied Meloid, Cysteodemus wislizeni, one of the Blister Beetles. According to BugGuide, it ranges from Texas to Arizona.
Saw a few of these little pretties and snapped a few photos of them below Livingston Ridge, south of Carsbad, NM