Leaf beetles, flea beetles, lady beetles, oh my! Wildflowers aren’t the only colorful organisms making appearances these days; this week features some of the most colorful beetle representatives we’ve seen so far this year.
Submit your bug pictures to bugid@missoulabutterflyhouse.org (and remember to include your name, the date, and the location where you took the photo)!
Header Photo: Grannom Caddisfly (Brachycentrus sp.) Klara Briknarova, April 24th, 2025. Kelly Island, Missoula, MT.
Cottonwood Leaf Beetle
Chrysomela script
With their distinctive patterning and alien-like larvae, leaf beetles in the genus Chrysomela are often confused as ladybugs. However, as their name suggests, leaf beetles are not predatory, instead feeding on the leaves of willows and poplars. Identification can be difficult, as many species within this genus look similar.
Kelly Dix, April 25th, 2025. Kim Williams Trail, Missoula, MT.
Flea Beetle
Disonycha sp.
Flea beetles are so named for their enlarged hind femora, which allows them to jump – like a flea. Flea beetles are leaf skeletonizers, eating the outer layers of leaves and leaving a decimated “skeleton” behind. While some species are considered pests, many are used as noxious weed control.
Alyssa Johnson, April 24th, 2025. Bonner, MT.
Pacific Digger Bee
Anthophora pacific
Digger bees are large, charismatic bees that resemble bumblebees in size and shape (and fuzziness), but are solitary bees that do not have a nest or queen. Like many solitary bees, they nest in the ground in individual cells. While many species overwinter in their pupal phases, the Pacific digger bee overwinters as an unemerged adult, making it an early arrival once the weather warms up.
Amy Barron, April 23rd, 2025. Yellowstone County, MT.
Small Milkweed Bug
Lygaeus kalmii
These striking critters are not box elder bugs, but you’d be forgiven for thinking so. As another hemipteran (true bug), Lygaeus kalmii shares several characteristics with the easily recognizable box elder bug; besides their vivid colors, they both have piercing-and-sucking mouthparts and a characteristic “X” shape on their back where their wings cross. Small Milkweed Bug adults feed on flower nectar and milkweed seeds, but if resources are scarce, they are quick to scavenge or even hunt other insects. Those daunting mouthparts are great for sipping nectar but can pierce through a prey item just as easily.
Kelly Dix, April 18th, 2025. Lolo, MT.
Dayflying Noctuid Moth
Behrensia conchiformis
Moths can be intimidating insects to attempt to identify, especially ones as cryptic as this noctuid. With nearly 12,000 species in the Cutworm Moth family (Noctuidae) alone, there are many species that mimic not only their environment but each other. This species is found throughout North America, and like many cutworm moths, their larvae can be common garden pests that feed on all manner of fruits, veggies, grasses, and more.
Lisa Cloo, April 25th, 2025. Turah, MT.
Speckled Dun
Callibaetis sp.
When mayflies first emerge from the water, they are commonly called a dun (scientifically called the subimago stage). As duns, mayflies physically resemble the final adult stage but are sexually immature and duller in color (the eyes, legs, and genitalia are not fully developed). Depending on the species, within a few minutes to a few days, the dun will molt a final time into the sexually mature adult (or imago). The mature adults lead ephemeral lives, normally living only a day or two, and with only vestigial mouthparts, they do not eat.
Kelly Dix, April 18th, 2025. River Park, Lolo, MT.
Banded Pebble Moth
Gluphisia severe
This adorably fuzzy moth belongs to the family Notodontidae, the prominent moths. Many members of these species have heavy, fuzzy bodies. As adults, they do not have functional mouthparts and only live long enough to mate before they expire.
Connie Geiger, April 20th, 2025. Spokane Creek, MT.
Western Polished Lady Beetle
Cycloneda polita
This blood red beetle certainly looks like it has been polished to a shine. As the name suggests, this species ranges across the west—in the Pacific Northwest, south to southern California and down the Rockies down to New Mexico. Like most other members of the subfamily Coccinellinae, these beetles feast on insects and insect eggs, including aphids and other “true bugs” (suborder Heteroptera), caterpillars, fly larvae, and scale insects. As such, they are excellent garden companions.
Kelly Dix, April 24th, 2025. Lolo, MT.