Grapevine Beetle

cfox@mit.edu's picture
July 23, 2014
Grapevine Beetle, 4-to-inch graph paper for scale

I believe this is a Grapevine Beetle (Pelidnota punctata). It got my attention by flying hard into the screen of the porch (from the outside) in a location where I could reach through another window and grab it in my hand. I've even seen one of these before, long ago, in Toronto, though this particular one struck me as much larger.

I used the trick of setting it in the fridge for a few minutes to slow it up for its picture, but there seemed to be no middle ground between having its feet tucked in looking dead, and flying around the kitchen, and I released it outside without trying a second time. For scale, it's on 4-per-inch graph paper.

Somerville, MA, 7/22/2014.