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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated. The original database and list of California beetles in the menu on the left will remain for the time being, but the information contained within is not necessarily current. SBMNH Entomology Curator Matthew L. Gimmel has divided up the function of the original database into two conceptual halves:

  1. The SBMNH Entomology specimen-level database, including all SBMNH beetle specimens included in the CBP database, which is now available (and ever-growing) through the ecdysis portal at https://serv.biokic.asu.edu/ecdysis/

  2. A literature- (and available specimen-)based checklist.
  3. of the Coleoptera of California, which is being revised and re-compiled by Dr. Gimmel, and, as of January 2017, is about 85% complete.




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Last updated 01/16/2009

 California Beetle Project > Species Pages > Lytta auriculata

Classification

Scientific name: Lytta auriculata Horn
    Order Coleoptera
    Superfamily Tenebrionoidea
    Family Meloidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: The body is black with slight hint of blue or green, and has a small orange frontal spot. The vertex ranges from orange to fully black, but typically orange with a small part black. The wing covers or elytra are metallic green or bluish green. They are about 6-19mm long. They also have almost colorless pubescence.

Where you'll find it: These beetles are found in the southern half of California, as well as in some parts of Arizona and Utah.

Natural History: Adults of these beetles eat many different plants like Daisies, California poppies, mints, elderberry, and many more.

This page was written by Marina Herrera, a 2005 participant in the Quasars to Sea Stars teen program.




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