Dogbane Beetle
Iridescent Beetle
I have been busy and have fallen behind in posting any new images. Now that it is cold outside and I am spending most of my time indoors, I thought I should catch up on posting some of the fun pictures I took over the summer. How about this little guy, what a bug! The dogbane beetle (species Chrysochus auratus), member of the insect subfamily Eumolpinae of the leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae (order Coleoptera). One of the most intriguing characteristics of the dogbane beetle is the kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. The beetles’ iridescence is produced by special body structures and light. The surface of the body parts of this beetle is made up of stacks of tiny, slanting plates, under which is a pigment. Some light rays reflect from the surface of the plates, and other light rays reflect from the pigment underneath. At different angles, the light reflects at different speeds, causing interference that result in our seeing different colors that shine. They appear to go from blue to green in color.
These beetles are not a pest threat to crops. The young larvae reside underground, where they eat the roots of dogbane and milkweed. When they mature into adult beetles, they climb up the plant to the leaves, which they then consume. The larvae feed only on the roots of these two plants; therefore, this insect is fairly common along roadsides, in pastures, and grassy filter strips in fields where these plants grow.
In the Boise area, summer is the time of year to stop, look, and appreciate a beautiful insect that does no harm.
They say the way to a woman's heart is diamonds. Not this woman. The way to my heart is a bigger lens! My camera of choice is a Nikon D80 with a Nikor 300 VR lens. I need the VR because my hands shake in the presence of grizzly bear, bald eagles and moose and it's hard to chase animals around with a tri pod.
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