This beetle has a large orange stripe on the elytra and a red head. It is about 1/3 to inch long.
Adults may be seen on tree trunks, where they look for larval or adult Bark and Ambrosia Beetles to feed upon. This beetle was photographed at the nature center. Its overall occurrence at Fontenelle Nature Center is not known. It is usually more common in bottomland hardwood forests than in upland forests
This beetle resembles a Velvet Ant, a type of wasp with a painful sting. This mimicry encourages predators to leave it alone.
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