There are about 40 different species of beetle in this genus across the United States. The individuals pictured here might be in the subgenus Melanthaxia. While they are only about 3 to 8 millimeters in length, you tend to notice these small beetles since large numbers of the adults can be found on a single flower. They inhabit coniferous forests where the larvae bore into the branches of trees that are already injured, dying or dead. Photo by Ellen Knight on 7/15/19 in Missoula, MT.
