CHECKERED BEETLE
Enoclerus rosmarus
CHECKERED BEETLE FAMILY (Cleridae)
This beetle is about 3/8 inch long. It is mostly orange-red in color. Beetles of this genus are usually banded in combinations of black with orange, red, gray, brown, white or yellow. The body is covered with bristly hairs and is narrow with a wide head. The pronotum is usually round and narrower than the elytra. The antenna are clubbed, sawtoothed or threadlike. Experts at Bugguide helped identify this beetle
This beetle is abundant on flowers and weeds in late spring and early summer. It takes nectar from flowers as its primary food source. This one was photographed on Virginia Mountain Mint at the Wetlands center garden.
Adults and larvae are active predators of bark beetles, weevils and other borers. Checkered beetles are one of the most important families of insect predators attacking injurious forest insects. They feed on adult beetles. The larvae live in the galleries and tunnels of bark beetles and wood borers and destroy the immature stages of these insects.
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