Friday Beetle Blogging: Notoxus flower beetle

Notoxus desertus - Antlike Flower Beetle

Pyramid Lake, Nevada

This furry little beetle comes with its own sun visor, a horn-like structure that projects over the head from the pronotum.  I photographed this Notoxus along the shores of Pyramid Lake where it was feeding on pollen.

Photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS D60

ISO 100, f/13, 1/250 sec, diffused twin flash

More like this

Nemognatha Blister Beetle, California.

Yay, Notoxis!

Are the horns for male battles?

They're easy to overlook. As their name implies, antlike flower beetles are ant-sized and generally inconspicuous. They aren't uncommon, though, and often appear at blacklights.

That's a good question. I have no idea- it seems very little is known about anthicids in general.

I'm an entomologist (ret.) and artist. I love this little guy. I did a pen & ink of one, years ago, spending many, many hours with one eye in a microscope!