Help me id this bug please

Jun 04, 2021 21:37:30

I was out in my wildflower garden and noticed there are a ton of aphids as well as ants tending the aphids, all in the tips of my tall budding flowers. Then I noticed these little round beetles on other flowers. I was getting ready to freak out then I noticed that on the flowers where the beetles are, there are no ants or aphids but a lot of black bug poop and the plants do not look nibbled on. Are these beetles eating the aphids or are they about to decimate my garden?

I'm 99% sure they are not Japanese beetles. They are about the size of a ladybug except completely bronze and very round. At first I thought they were tiny flower buds.

Jun 04, 2021 22:08:34

While I am unfamiliar with Washington, here is a university link that you may find further information:

https://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-type-and-region.php?thisState=Washington&thisType=Beetle

Jun 05, 2021 04:39:44

get a clearer picture and upload to https://bugguide.net/

Jun 05, 2021 05:20:21

i don’t know the bugs in your area super well, but if i saw those around here, they’d be dogbane leaf beetles.

Jun 05, 2021 11:17:11

greg mosser wrote:i don’t know the bugs in your area super well, but if i saw those around here, they’d be dogbane leaf beetles.

Hmmmm, I don't think so. It's close but not the right shape. These are very round. Thanks though.

Jun 05, 2021 11:18:35

Kevin Goheen wrote:While I am unfamiliar with Washington, here is a university link that you may find further information:

https://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-type-and-region.php?thisState=Washington&thisType=Beetle

That's a great site. I couldn't find my beetles on the list though. :(

Jun 05, 2021 11:20:02

Thomas Dean wrote:get a clearer picture and upload to https://bugguide.net/

It's hard to get a clear picture because they are so tiny and I don't have a macro lens. But I'll going to try again and I'll give that site a try. Thanks!

Jun 05, 2021 11:40:31

Here's a better (maybe?) picture. They are definitely eating the plants but it's only one kind of wildflower (I can't remember the plant name but it gets tiny yellow flowers). So as a trap plant, whatever it is is keeping the beetles in that spot.

You can see the beetles in the garden picture though it's a bit like eye-spy.

Sep 02, 2021 20:56:50

I found out what this beetle was. For future reference the wildflower is St John's Wort and the beetle is a biological control that was released to control it.
From http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/info_sjwbeetles.htm :
"St. John's wort, a native of Europe, was first introduced to North America in 1793 in Pennsylvania. It became established in Eastern Canada by 1883. Over much of its range in Canada it has been successfully controlled by the introduction of insects that feed only on St. John's wort. Biological control of St. John's wort was introduced in Australia in the 1930's with the introduction of three beetles that fed only on St. John's wort in its native habitat in Europe - Chrysolina hyperici from the Atlantic region of Europe; C. quadrigemina from the Mediterranean region and Anaitis plagiata from northern Europe. During the 1950's Ontario imported and released all three species in an effort to achieve similar biological control of St. John's wort. C. quadrigemina is currently predominant.
Chrysolina quadrigemina is a member of the Chrysomelidae, the same insect family that contains the Colorado potato beetle. Its shape and habits are similar to those of this common and destructive pest of solanaceaous plants. When disturbed, Chrysolina spp. beetles will drop from the plant and "play dead" on the soil. They feed voraciously both as larvae and adults."
The chrysolina beetle only ate the St John's Wort and didn't make much of a dent in the plants. The beetles were done and gone by the end of July.

I thought it was all very interesting!

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