Bumblebee mimic scarab beetle
S_ spotted this one buzzing across the kitchen in late July. It was moving pretty fast, and was hard to see clearly, but it sure looked and acted like a small bumblebee. But then, it landed on the window where I was able to catch it, and it turned out to be this:
It is one of the Hairy Flower Scarabs, genus Trichiotinus. Based on the pictures and the range map, I’m inclined to think that it is Trichiotinus assimilis. It really does look a lot like a bumblebee when it is flying, and as you can see from the underside, it has fuzz just like a bumblebee does.
I unfortunately didn’t get it to unfurl its wings for pictures, but the wings are shorter and more bee-like than is typical for beetles. They fly during the day from flower to flower, just like a bee would, and eat nectar and pollen. Their larvae live in rotting wood, though, so that’s where the resemblance to bees ends.
Once again, we have something mimicking a stinging insect. It’s obvious why mimics tend to mimic creatures that can fight back: it isn’t going to do you any good to pretend to be something innocuous like a cricket. You want to look dangerous.
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Nice one!
I have a small apple orchard and these bumblebee beetles are alwys coming in fall just before picking season and devouring on my apples. I had 6 of them in one apple today. Any ideas on how to rid them as the spray I use is supposed to be discontinued 2 weeks before picking. I am in central MN.
From my reading, they generally go for damaged fruit and veg. I have them on my cherry tomatoes that have split