False Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa juncta)

April 14^th, 2015. I was just about home from a long trike ride when a…

small beetle flew down and landed on the leg of my long cycling pants. It was a striking beetle, a little bigger than a ladybug.

It was calm enough that I was able to coax it onto my left hand and grab my camera in my right hand. It was quite active and ran around on my…

arm and…

fingers while I took photos.

When I was ready to leave, I put it back on the…

ground. I’m glad it flew onto me; I would never have seen it on the ground.

With such a distinctive color pattern, it was relatively easy to identify. It’s a False Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa juncta), a member of the Leef Beetle family, Chrysomelidae.

Identification resource: 

- Bug Guide: False Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa juncta)