The Ornate Checkered Beetle is a strikingly beautiful small beetle with bright blue elytra boldly banded in red or orange and white, found on flowers throughout the western United States. Adults are frequent visitors to compound flowers where they consume pollen and nectar while larvae are predators of solitary bee and wasp larvae in their nests. Their vivid pattern may mimic a beetle with chemical defenses.
Best time to see a Ornate Checkered Beetle
The best time to see a Ornate Checkered Beetle is April–June, when about 73% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 10,617 research-grade iNaturalist observations.
Not certain it is a Ornate Checkered Beetle? What bug is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.
Recent Ornate Checkered Beetle sightings near you
Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.
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