Subject: probably cicadomorpha
Geographic location of the bug: Phoenix, Arizona.
Date: 08/13/2019
Time: 07:34 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I found this bug in the evening on a dead tree while grilling, it was origanoly above the stick but when I moved my camera closer to it it moved below. The next day I looked on the tree and I did not find it on the branch that it was sitting on before or any of those around it. I searched for it on google for at least an hour but found nothing quite like it.
How you want your letter signed: christopher walker
Dear Christopher,
This is a Metallic Borer Beetle or Jewel Beetle in the family Buprestidae, and upon researching its identity, we found this similar looking individual identified as Acmaeodera rubronotata on Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, but the red markings are different as are the white spotting pattern. We suspected the genus was correct, but not the species. We browsed BugGuide, but we still could not identify the species and we were daunted by the information “144 spp. in 2 subgenera in our area.” We believe we correctly identified your beetle as Acmaeodera gibbula thanks to Arizona Naturalists. According to BugGuide: “larvae mostly host on various legumes.”