Blue Fungus Beetle

Description:

Gibbifer californicus is a conspicuous, grey to bright blue beetle common in mid- to high elevation forests in southwestern North America and Northern Mexico. Both larvae and adults feed on wood-rotting fungi such as Pleurotus ostreatus and Fomitopsis pinicola. Adult beetles are fairly large, about 1.5 cm long. Their body is black, except for the elytra which are of a light color ranging from a bright, purplish blue to a dull grey. The elyra are covered with shallow black punctures, which blend into a large, black, lateral spot near the middle of each elytron.