Trichiotinus lunulatus

58chevy · Post by **58chevy** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 9:58 pm

These bugs are out in big numbers right now in E. Texas. Caught at least 30 of them this morning. They are about 10 to 12 mm long and look like miniature metallic green Goliath beetles. All were caught on flowers.

livingplanet3 · Post by **livingplanet3** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:01 pm

58chevy wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2024 9:58 pm These bugs are out in big numbers right now in E. Texas. Caught at least 30 of them this morning. They are about 10 to 12 mm long and look like miniature metallic green Goliath beetles. All were caught on flowers...

Very nice! I've often seen several species of Trichiotinus in my area, including lunulatus. They're nearly always on either prickly pear cactus flowers, or thistles. Most commonly, I see T. texanus -

https://bugguide.net/node/view/1803462/bgimage

And much less often, another trichiine, Trigonopeltastes delta -

https://bugguide.net/node/view/519253

58chevy · Post by **58chevy** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:31 pm

Yes, nice genus. T. lunulatus also comes in metallic blue.

vabrou · Post by **vabrou** » Thu May 16, 2024 4:29 pm

T. lunulatus box of blue, box of green and box of Trigonopeltastes delta

58chevy · Post by **58chevy** » Tue May 21, 2024 9:47 pm

Were all those Trichiotinus & Trigonopelastes collected in light traps?

vabrou · Post by **vabrou** » Mon Jun 03, 2024 2:03 am

Most all collected in bright sunshine by hand feeding among arrowood flowers. Here are three other species I also collect on arrowood flowers here at my home around the same time each year. Trichiotinus piger (Fabricius), Cotinis nitida (Linnaeus), and Euphoria sepulcralis.