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Project Noah Nature School
Acmaeodera sp.
A black Wood Boring Beetle with orange-yellow spots on the elytra with a bluish cast. (It also has yellow pollen on the surface of the body which are not spots). It was about 1 cm long and feeding in a flower. Family Buprestidae. Adults feed on flower petals while the larvae burrow in twigs and small branches of several species of hardwood trees. Interestingly, the elytra of species of Acmaeodera is fused and do not separate in flight, giving the beetle a look of a bee in flight.
W Rim Trail to Angel's Landing, Zion National Park, Utah.
According to Ted McRae of Beetles in the Bush, "Springtime Acmaeodera is a genus with more than 150 species. It is one of the largest genera of jewel beetles (family Buprestidae) in North America. This genus is in terrible need of revision – new species continue to be recognized on a regular basis from the desert southwest and Mexico, where the group reaches its greatest diversity" (https://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2...).
Spotted on Jun 1, 2016
Submitted on Jul 6, 2016
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