Latin Name:  Trichodes ornatus Say 1823
                        (R. Bercha, det.)

Length:  8 - 10 mm

Range: Alberta

Habitat:  Various

Time of year seen: Mid-summer (Additional Sightings)

Diet: Pollen and small insects

Other: The Ornate Checkered Beetle is found in British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories (Bousquet, Y. (Ed.), 1991). Adult beetles are found on a range of flowers where they consume pollen and other small insects including small flower beetles. The beetle’s larva are parasites of leaf cutter bee and vespid wasp nests. Eggs are laid on flower heads, where the larva hatch and wait to attach to a visiting bee or wasp. The larva then rides back to the host nest where they consume the eggs and larva. After about 1 to 4 years the larva pupate and emerge as adults. Adult beetles are hairy and have an elongate body that is green or dark blue with yellow or red patches. (Evans, A.V. & Hogue J. N., 2006)