Andrew Trundlewagon's photos with the keyword: beetle

A locust borer beetle, (Megacyllene robiniae) on goldenrod flowers. (Taken with a cell phone).

An eastern eyed click beetle (the huge eyespots are false, the true eyes are small and on the head).The lighting effect was an accident caused by the beetle walking onto an metallic panel, which reflected back the light from the camera flash. Alaus oculatus,

I don’t expect too many people to care for this one. First, it’s a beetle, second, it’s a black beetle. It is an oil beetle, (Genus Meloe, there are several species and they all look the same to me). When threatened they pump out a fluid from between their leg joints that contains cantharidin, a compound that is more than a little nasty. In small doses it is reputedly an aphrodisiac, the famous Spanish fly is based on cantharidin, but consume too much, (and by all accounts, a little is too much), and a grim, writhing, agonizing, death ensues. Their reproductive habits also tend toward the macabre. The female lays eggs in burrows. The first generation of larvae hatch, crawl up plant stalks to settle in flowers. Here they are picked up by bees. In fact, some oil beetles emit pheromones that attract male wild bees. The larvae climb aboard the bee. The male bee mates with a female bee, and the larval oil beetles are transferred to the female. One web-site referred to this transfer as 'six-legged venereal disease', which is a troubling comparison but apt. The female bee lays her eggs and stuffs the nest with pollen. Meanwhile, the oil beetle larvae having dropped off the mummy bee, set about to eat the pollen. Then they eat the larval bees. Then they make themselves scarce without so much as a thank you note.

A swamp milkweed beetle

A couple of swamp milkweed beetles, one on the high road and one on the low road.

A small black blister beetle in goldenrod, september

A golden tortoise beetle