It’s been a fun week. I’ve seen about five insects that are new to me, and several of them have been in colors that aren’t typical for insects. Above is a Western Fruit Beetle or Syneta Albida. I saw several on currants, hanging out on and under the leaves. This one had silver elytra with a black centerline, and silver is a color I’ve hardly ever seen on insects. A little ways down the trail, I caught another one in flight, and it was nearly all white, see below (and yes, it looks like I need lotion on my knuckles).
White is also an uncommon color for insects. The larvae of these leaf beetles enjoy feeding on tree roots, and the adults like the leaves of fruit trees. The only reference to an infestation of them that was problematic for fruit production was from 1925. Of course, it may be that various insecticides or other measures are used in orchards these days.
This crane fly had a neon-green abdomen, a color I’ve never seen before on an insect. I have a request in to BugGuide for identification. The only green crane flies I’ve found online live in the eastern U.S. and the heads and thoraxes are also green. I wonder what this one would look like under a black light?!
I’ll end with another silver / gray beetle. This one is a soft-winged flower beetle in the genus Listrus. According to one source, the beetles in this sub-family (Dasytinae) are important pollinators of food crops, plants on which animals forage, and other flowering plants. The dense hairs on the beetle collect pollen, which they deliver from one plant to another as they fly around. I saw many of these beetles on white Baby Blue Eyes flowers.
Enjoy spring!
Ticklehead 