Subject: Fancy mystery beetle
Location: Ashfield, Massachusetts
July 9, 2017 5:25 pm
My son found this boldly patterned beetle that appeared to be brushed with gold dust on a beech sapling that was covered in fat grubs reminiscent of potato beetle larvae that were eating the leaves. I don’t know if the larvae had anything to do with the beetle itself but I thought it might be worth mentioning even though I didn’t get a picture of them. These pictures were taken at the D.A.R. State Forest on June 28, 2017 in Ashfield, Massachusetts. I scoured all my insect field guides and guides to New England wildlife to no avail. I’ve asked amateur nature buffs and no one has been able to identify this little beauty. My brother suggested asking “What’s That Bug.”
Thank you
Signature: N. Gerlach
Dear N. Gerlach,
This is a Leaf Beetle in the genus Calligrapha, and many species in the genus look very similar. Your individual appears to be Calligrapha rowena based on this BugGuide image. According to BugGuide it feeds: “on Cornus (dogwood).”
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to share this identification with my family.