Beetles of the Cuyamaca Mountains
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    • Cantharidae
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Beetles of Greater San Diego County


Carabidae

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​Callisthenes semilaevis

det. P. Messer

Lake Hodges, Rancho Bernardo, California

Found on spring vegetation, coastal sage scrub habitat.
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Callisthenes semilaevis

Henderson Canyon Road, Borrego Springs, California

One of many during a rich spring, following significant rain in 2016/2017.
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Callisthenes semilaevis

Henderson Canyon Road, Borrego Springs, California

Eating a dead Hyles lineata caterpillar, which looks like it might have been stepped on.
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Callisthenes semilaevis

Henderson Canyon Road, Borrego Springs, California

Mating pair.

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​Calosoma parvicolle

det. P. Messer

     
Southwestern College campus, Chula Vista, California


Found on a grassy lawn in spring.
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Calosoma parvicolle

Borrego Dunes area, S. of Pegleg Rd., Borrego Springs, California

This was one of many in a rich spring following rains in 2016/2017.
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Cicindela oregona

Loveland Reservoir, California

This individual was found along a stream edge on the east side of the reservoir.
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Cicindela latesignata

S. of Imperial Beach, California

This mating pair were right at the water's edge and got slightly wet from a small wave!

Dytiscidae

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​Thermonectus marmoratus


Santa Ysabel, California

Found at lights at night.

Silphidae

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​Nicrophorus guttala

East of Eagle Peak, California

Oak parkland habitat.

Staphylinidae
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Thinopinus pictus

Just north of Imperial Beach, California

Found under seaweed at high tide mark.
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Thinopinus pictus

Just north of Imperial Beach, California

Found under seaweed at high tide mark.

Trogidae
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Omorgus suberosus

Borrego Springs, California

This individual was found four days after a heavy monsoonal rain.

Pleocomidae

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Pleocoma puncticollis
Male

Ramona, California

Found at dusk after moderate rain, December 13, 2012. Oak woodland habitat, surrounded by chaparral.

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​Pleocoma puncticollis
Male

Ramona, California


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Geotrupidae

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​Bolbocerastes regalis

Male

Borrego Springs, California

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Bolbocerastes regalis

Female

Borrego Springs, California

Hybosoridae
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Hybosorus illigeri

Borrego Springs, California

This individual was found four days after a heavy monsoonal rain.


This is a member of the Scavenger Scarab Beetle family. It is non-native, and was introduced from Europe in the 19th century.

Scarabaeidae
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Aphodius sp.

Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This individual came to a black light in March.
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Diplotaxis sp.
       
Borrego Springs, California
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Dinacoma marginata
       
San Felipe Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Dinacoma marginata
       
San Felipe Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Dichelonyx sp.
       
Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

This individual was one of many that visited lights after dark. This is a mixed deciduous/coniferous forest at around 4900 feet. 
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Dichelonyx sp.
       
Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

This individual was one of many that visited lights after dark. This is a mixed deciduous/coniferous forest at around 4900 feet. 
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Dichelonyx sp.
       
Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

Just before take-off.
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Coenonycha lurida

Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This individual came to black light on a March night.

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​Paracotalpa ursina

Mira Mesa, California


This individual was found clinging to the Science Building at  Miramar College on April 1, 2013. There is a small population that exists on campus at this college, despite the intense construction and disturbance of the area over the years.

This species also occurs at nearby Miramar Lake.

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​Paracotalpa puncticollis

     
Little Blair Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Cyclocephala sp. (probably C. longula)

Borrego Springs, California

This individual was found four days after a heavy monsoonal rain.
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Cyclocephala sp.

Doane Pond, Palomar Mountain, California

This individual was found exposed on a dirt pathway on a sunny day, and moved to the shade for a photograph!

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​Tomarus gibbosus

     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park


In riparian area.

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​Cremastocheilus armatus montanus

det. W. Warner through Bugguide.net


Ramona, California

Buprestidae
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Poecilonota salixi
det. R. Velten
       
San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert

       
This individual was beaten from a large willow on a cool, damp day in May.
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Poecilonota salixi
det. R. Velten
       
San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert

       
This individual was beaten from a large willow on a cool, damp day in May.
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Poecilonota salixi
det. R. Velten
       
San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert

       
This individual was beaten from a large willow on a cool, damp day in May.
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Poecilonota salixi
det. R. Velten
       
San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert

       
This individual was beaten from a large willow on a cool, damp day in May.
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Acmaeodera connexa 

Doane Pond, Palomar Mountain, California

This individual was found on a warm June day.
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Acmaeodera connexa and bombyliids (Thevenetimyia sp.)

Doane Pond, Palomar Mountain, California

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​Acmaeodera gibbula


Scissors Crossing, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Acmaeodera prorsa

Laguna Mountains.

Cam to Lindgren Funnel.

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​Acmaeodera retifera 

     
Lake Sutherland, California
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Acmaeodera vernalis
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Acmaeodera sphaeralceae

Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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​Gyascutus planicosta
     
Borrego Springs, California

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Gyascutus planicosta

     
Borrego Springs, California

Elateridae
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Octinodes megalops
       
San Felipe Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This beetle came to a black light in a mesquite-dominated desert habitat.

Cantharidae
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Silis sp.
         
Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California


This individual was flying about on vegetation in the late afternoon.

Cleridae
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Enoclerus quadrisignatus

San Felipe Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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​Trichodes ornatus
, yellow morph


East of Ramona, on trail to Cedar Creek Falls

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​Trichodes ornatus
, red morph

Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park
     

In riparian area.
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Trichodes ornatus pair
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California


This pair found on Encelia farinosa in a riparian area.

Coccinellidae
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​Coccinella septempunctata

       
Loveland Reservoir, California

This individual was on Brassica rapa (Field Mustard)
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​Coccinella septempunctata

       
Loveland Reservoir, California

This pair was found on Brassica rapa (Field Mustard)
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Hippodamia convergens
       
Loveland Reservoir, California

This pair was found on Brassica rapa (Field Mustard)
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Hippodamia convergens
       
Fry Creek, Palomar Mountain, California

Many lady beetles, including this one, were nectaring on          Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica). The adults of this species are carnivorous, and also feed on nectar or pollen.
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Anatis rathvoni

Coyote Canyon, 
Anza Borrego Desert, California

This individual seemed out of place at a black light after dark on a March evening. The nearest conifers were many miles distant!
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Olla v-nigrum
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1 mile W. Shelter valley, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This one was on mesquite, on a cool, damp morning in May.

Ripiphoridae
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Macrosiagon cruenta
      
San Felipe Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California

Tenebrionidae
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Eusattus difficilis
     
​San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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Eusattus difficilis
       
​San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Eusattus dubius
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California



This individual was found on a dirt road after dark. It was quite small - around 8 mm long or so.

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​Stenomorpha cressoni

     
Near Shelter Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, California


Out after dark in a mesquite-dominated habitat.
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Tenebrionid, possibly Stenomorpha sp.?

Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This tenebrionid was the only one of its kind seen. It was  about 10-12 mm long, so fairly small. Somewhat hairy. It was out on a cool evening in March.

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​Eleodes armatus


Clark's Dry Lake, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Eleodes grandicollis
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San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert, California


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Eleodimorpha bolcan
det. A. Johnston

Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

Several were seen after dark crawling on the forest floor.
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Asbolus verrucosus
       
Coyote Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Asbolus verrucosus
       
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California

Performing a "partial" headstand. Found at night on a dirt road.

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​Cryptoglossa muricata

     
Indian Gorge, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Edrotes ventricosus

Coyote Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Microschatia inaequalis
       
Lake Hodges, San Diego, California
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Cerenopus concolor
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Coyote Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California


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Group of darkling beetles, rummaging around in debris outside an ant nest. The lighter one in the center is Cryptoglossa muricata.
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San Felipe Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California

Meloidae
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Cysteodemus armatus
     
Borrego Springs, California
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Cysteodemus armatus
       
Borrego Dunes area, S. of Pegleg Rd., Borrego Springs, California

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Eupompha elegans

Along Henderson Canyon Road, Borrego Springs,   
California

This is the morph I see most often in the Anza Borrego Desert.
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Eupompha elegans
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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Eupompha elegans
       
Crest, California 

A different morph than the one show above. This seems  to be a morph seen west of the mountains in southern California.

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Nemognatha sp. 
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California


In riparian area.
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Nemog​natha sp.
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California


This individual was found four days following heavy monsoonal rain. It is nectaring at Petalonyx thurberi, which was flowering in some abundance at First Crossing.
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Nemognatha sp.
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park,     
California


This is the same individual shown above, cleaning its mouthparts after feeding.

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​Lytta auriculata

     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California


In riparian area.
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Lytta auriculata
       
Indian Gorge, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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​Lytta magister

     
Borrego Springs, California
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Lytta magister
       
Between Ocotillo Wells an Highway 86, Anza Borrego Desert

Mating pair. One of many in field of Desert Sunflower following rains of 2016/2017.
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​Lytta magister 
in flight
       
Between Ocotillo Wells an Highway 86, Anza Borrego Desert
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​Lytta stygica

       
San Felipe Creek area, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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​Lytta vulnerata

     
Near Shelter Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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Lytta nitidicollis

     
East of Ramona, California

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​Pyrota palpalis

     
One mile W. of Shelter Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, California


On a small composite flower several days following heavy monsoonal rains.

Cerambycidae
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Derobrachus geminatus
       
​Anza Borrego Desert, California

The very close-set eyes are one way to distinguish D. geminatus from D. hovorei.

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Eustromula validum

     
Anza Borrego Desert, California

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​Phoracantha recurva

     
Ramona, California


A native of Australia. A pest of eucalyptus trees.
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Osmidus guttatus     
     
Borrego Springs, California

This individual was found four days after a heavy monsoonal rain.
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Anelaphus albofasciatus
     
Coyote Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California


This individual came to a light set up after dark.
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Oeme costata
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Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

Three females came to a light set-up after dark. This species was quite abundant in Cuyamaca Woods (North Peak, Cuyamaca Mts.), in the five or so years following the Cedar Fire, but then dwindled to none in that location (at least that I have observed).
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Callimoxys fuscipennis

Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

This individual was found resting on vegetation in the late afternoon.

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Plionoma suturalis

Scissors Crossing, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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Plionoma suturalis

     
Scissors Crossing, Anza Borrego Desert, California

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Judolia sexspilota

     
​Lake Sutherland, California
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Neobellamira delicata australis
       
Fry Creek Campground, Palomar Mountain, California

This individual was flying around actively at Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica).
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Cortodera falsa
       
Plum Canyon, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This individual was visiting flowers in the desert during a rich spring following a wet winter.
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Moneilema semipunctatum
       
Indian Gorge, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This individual was found walking on the ground on a warm July night.

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​Tetraopes
 sp. (likely either T. femoratus or T. sublaevis)

     
​Lake Sutherland, California
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Ipochus fasciatus
      
Palomar College Arboretum, San Marcos, California

Beaten from a Baccharis-like shrub.

Chrysomelidae
Picture
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Trirhabda geminata
       
Culp Valley, Anza Borrego Desert, California

This individual was on Encelia farinosa, for which this beetle species has a strong association.

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​Chrysochus cobaltina

     
Lake Sutherland, California


A common visitor to milkweed.
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​Lema daturaphila
Three-lined Potato Beetle

Loveland Reservoir, California

This adult and quite a few larvae were found on Brassica rapa (Field Mustard)
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​Lema daturaphila Larva
Three-lined Potato Beetle
     
Loveland Reservoir, California

Several larvae, including this one, and one adult were found on Brassica rapa (Field Mustard)
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Trachymela sloanei
Australian Tortoise Beetle

This is a non-native species first found in Riverside County in 1998. This individual was found in February of 2016 under the bark of a eucalyptus in Santa Ysabel, California.

Curculionidae
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Apleurus albovestitus

Coyote Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California
Picture
Sphenophorus aequalis
Clay-colored Billbug

Lake Hodges, San Diego, California

This individual was found at the water's edge.
Picture

Sphenophorus sp.

Coyote Creek, Anza Borrego Desert, California
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