Seen on Plymouth Beach in MA. I was looking for an Arctic Tern (success!) and I also found this guy. What is he?
Beach Beetle
It looks like a False Potato Beetle, maybe?
I think he might be a Colorado potato beetle. Feeds on eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and nightshade plants.
Definitely a Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata); see http://tinyurl.com/2cp8puu for an image of a false potato beetle (Leptinotarsa juncta), sometimes called a horsenettle beetle.
Suunto...I don't question your expertise at all, you're very knowledgable about insects. I clicked on neefman's image, and then on the link you put up, and compared them side by side. My goodness, they look exactly the same! How can you tell the False Beetle from the Colorado Beetle??
Well....now that I look closer, I can see some minute coloration differences on the head and in the stripes. Is that how you tell?
If you look at the dark stripe closest to the edge of the wing cover, you will see that on the false potato beetle it is much wider than the other stripes, and it also has a narrow brown stripe inside it.
It's as plain as day now! Do they both munch on nightshades, or just the Colorado Beetle?
They both will feed on several members of that family (including eggplants and tomatoes), but the false potato beetle reportedly cannot complete development on potatoes (I have found them feeding on potatoes, though).
Okay, so they're both bad news in the garden. I plant potatoes every year, but have never had any potato beetles. As a matter of fact, I've never had any pests at all on my potatoes.
Great thread. What was this guy doing on a beach? Could he eat anything there or was he lost?
I was wondering the same thing. Perhaps someone nearby has a vegetable garden?
This was at the end of a three mile penisula. It was all sand dunes.
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