MObugs: Lizard Beetle

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Lizard Beetle

This pretty, but very thin beetle is called a Slender Lizard Beetle (Acropteroxys gracilis). The adults are fond of pollen and leaves of herbaceous plants. The larvae bore into the stems of herbaceous plants and feed there. They are found east of the Rocky's and are very tiny at up to 3/8 of an inch. Look for them along roadsides and near woodland areas...or in your garden like I found this one.

They will overwinter in the stems of plants such as Joe-Pye Weed, Sneezeweed and Boneset. These beetles were originally in their own family of Languriidae....now they are included with the Pleasing Fungus Beetles in the family Erotylidae.

2 comments:

Out on the prairieJuly 19, 2010 at 10:23 AM
Now this is one I have seen.I like to observe the beetles, trying to figure if they are eating or looking for others.They make a nice contrast with a flower closeup also.
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Shelly CoxJuly 19, 2010 at 10:25 AM
LOL...this was a first for me. I had to send the image to bugguide to get an ID. All my field guides did not contain an image that looked close enough to be this exact species. I had an answer within minutes. It was soooo tiny I almost overlooked it...but I'm very glad I didn't. It really is a pretty beetle.
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