Tumbling Flower Beetle
(three photos)
"Pintail Beetle"
Beetle Family
Mordellidae
I found these tiny Tumbling Flower Beetles, sometimes called pintail beetles, at the North Arm
of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT.
© Carol Davis, 8-2-2009
This striped-bodied, pointy-tailed, hunch-backed beetle was quite small and thus hard to photograph. It just
amazes me how many different kinds of beetles there are. The larvae of this one feed on plant material and
the adults visit flowers. When they are trying to keep from getting captured, they launch themselves
away or "tumble" to freedom, hence the name Tumbling Flower Beetle. Found on a tiny
flower on Antelope Island. © Carol Davis, 6-23-2009
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I found these tiny Tumbling Flower Beetles, sometimes called pintail beetles, at the North Arm
of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT. © Carol Davis, 8-2-2009
This striped-bodied, pointy-tailed, hunch-backed beetle was quite small and thus hard to photograph. It just
amazes me how many different kinds of beetles there are. The larvae of this one feed on plant material and
the adults visit flowers. When they are trying to keep from getting captured, they launch themselves
away or "tumble" to freedom, hence the name Tumbling Flower Beetle. Found on a tiny
flower on Antelope Island. © Carol Davis, 6-23-2009
Home - Insects and Bugs of Utah
Other Home - Amazing Nature