Spring is definitely here in North Carolina! Actually, we went from cold, rainy, chilly weather straight into warm, summery weather with nothing in between, but there’s been a sudden explosion of leaves and flowers and insects and birds and who knows what else. It’s fantastic! I suspect this “spring” is only going to last a short while and soon it will be quite hot, so I intend to enjoy it thoroughly while it lasts.
Today I have 5 brand new photos of an insect I’ve been seeing all over the field station where I work the last few days. Meet Euphoria:
Bumble flower beetle, Euphoria inda, front view
… also known as the bumble flower beetle (Euphoria inda). I think the common name accurately reflects part of the beetle’s personality as I found this little beauty when I mistook it for a bee a couple of days ago. I’d been watching the eastern carpenter bees making and defending territories when I saw a bee crash into the ground. When I went over to investigate, I saw something that looked like this:
Bumble flower beetle, Euphoria inda, ventral view
It wasn’t a bee at all, but Euphoria, a fantastic scarab beetle! It tried to fly away when I picked it up, making a loud buzzing reminiscent of its namesake as it attempted to escape, but I snatched it out of the air and slipped it into my lunch bag to take it home to photograph. I’d never seen one of these before, so I thought it was a special find. Look how beautiful this beetle is!
Bumble flower beetle, Euphoria inda, side view
Gorgeous mottled elytra (those hard outer wings that protect the flying wings underneath), amazing textures, and fur. Look at that fur! They’re so fuzzy! And just because, here it is from the other side:
Bumble flower beetle, Euphoria inda, the other side
These beetles supposedly overwinter as adults and become active in the spring, but then they’ll disappear for a while before the next generation develops in the fall. That would explain why I’ve found dozens of these over the last few days, dashing my hopes that this beetle was something special. In fact, this beetle is so widespread it’s pretty much anything but special! Regardless, I’m going to enjoy these beetles, the bees that I frequently find with them, and every wonderful thing about spring that I can. Can you tell I’m a wee bit excited about spring? :)
I leave you with this lovely beetle butt:
Bumble flower beetle, Euphoria inda, running away
Have a great weekend everyone!
_______________
The Dragonfly Woman 
Don’t remember seeing one here in FL. It is interesting.
Happy Spring!
ct
They’re supposedly in your area too! I’ve found all of the ones I’ve seen near mulched areas, so perhaps looking in a similar area might lead you to one?
Beetle’s posteriors? What’s not to like :-)
Exactly! :)
So fuzzy! Does it need a groomer?
Ha ha! You want the job? :)
It would take a tiny little set of thinning shears…
Ha ha ha! Love it.
Wonderful critter! Spring has sprung indeed!
Thank goodness it has! I was getting so sick of winter – and I don’t even live in a place that gets snow! I love wearing shorts and my flip flops though, and now I can again.
Love the butt shot! Are they destructive beetles? What do they eat?
And spring finally came here too. IT’S ABOUT TIME. Although my family in Minnesota is still having snow. Ick!
Nancy
They’re only minorly destructive and feed on nectar and other plant fluids, including those from rotting fruits. Don’t think they’re really a problem for anything.
I have a friend in Minneapolis who posted a photo on Facebook today of him at some event at a bar where everyone is wearing winter hats and snow coats. I am feeling lucky that I have my doors and windows open today!
It was an awesome weekend, wasn’t it. I’m so glad to not be in Minnesota anymore.
Love your enthusiasm. My mother taught me to love insects and this blog has been fun and informative! That said…what is it’s purpose?
The purpose of my blog? It started out as a purely educational blog, but I have found that I don’t like it being all facts all the time and have turned it into more of an insect appreciation blog with educational leanings. It rather closely mirrors my own life and my own interests, which are all over the place! Mostly I just love insects, writing, and insect photography, so I write the blog as a way to indulge in my passions. If I happen to convince people that insects are amazing, wonderful creatures in doing so, that’s just an added bonus! And if people learn something new from what I write – even if it’s as simple as learning that bumble flower beetles have really hairy armpits – then that’s even better.
Does that answer your question?
Hi
I would like to link my last blog to your excellent chigger blog from a while ago – how can I find it?
Nevemind, I googled chiggers and your blog name, and voila! Link established, lots of writing time saved.
That was easy! Glad I could save you some time.