Subject: Wasp beetle in California?
Location: Petaluma, CA
May 1, 2015 3:13 pm
Founds this bug today,.
Petaluma, CA. Riparian / farm land
Hot and sunny.
Signature: Kati Jackson
Hi Kati,
Many species of Longhorned Borer Beetles from the family Cerambycidae are excellent wasp mimics, including members of the genus Clytus. We believe the individual represented in your images is Clytus planifrons based on its resemblance to individuals posted on BugGuide. The species is found in California. On the genus page, BugGuide states: “C. arietis is called ‘wasp beetle’ in the U” which we suppose should have read “UK” because according to Nature Spot it is “Common and widespread in England and Wales, scarcer in Scotland.” Had you not stated that your found your individual in California, we might have mistaken it for its Old World relative.
