CLOSED: Black and Orange Beetle

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PedricksCorner Freedom, CA(Zone 9b) May 31, 2010

I have tried to identify this beetle, which I do not believe is harmful, but no one seems to know what it is. It only arrives in my yard when the ants have placed aphids on my fruit trees. They appear to be competing with the ants for the honey dew the aphids put out. They are very clumsy flyers. I have never seen them elsewhere in the yard. I tried to find a photo of them in the Bug Files and could not. The bug charts at HomeDepot call it a "Plant Bug" ha, ha!!! No details on them though, not even it's latin name..... Help will be greatly appreciated.

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV May 31, 2010

I cannot be certain, but this could be a soldier beetle (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) - see http://tinyurl.com/2dx6yv3 for an example. Soldier beetles primarily are predators on small soft-bodied insects such as aphids, but will supplement their diet with nectar and pollen. Another possibility is a false blister beetle (Coleoptera: Oedemeridae) - see http://tinyurl.com/yzht4uq for an example; they primarily are nectar and pollen feeders.

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PedricksCorner Freedom, CA(Zone 9b) May 31, 2010

I do believe you got it right with the first one - Podabrus pruinosus.
And wow, what a great site! I know some children who are going to have a blast wondering around in there!
No wonder I couldn't find it amoung insects listed as harmful to plants. I had a feeling it was either eating the aphids or the dew they put out. Once I got rid of the aphids, they dissappeared. I know someone who kills them on site and is teaching her grandchildren to do the same because she is certain they eat her plants.... Now I can defend my observations that this one is no pest!
Thanks!

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