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Photo#1185337
'Bup' on a mallow - Acmaeodera hepburnii

'Bup' on a mallow - Acmaeodera hepburnii
Indian Knob, south of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA
April 19, 2015
(Full-size image here.)

From looking through photos on the guide, I'm guessing this is probably Acmeodera hepburnii. Images of the type appear here.

It's seen here on a rather well-nibbled corolla of what I believe to be Sidalcea malviflora, a native mallow widespread in cis-montane California. (I didn't key the plant...but from what I can see, it looks like S. malviflora, and there's a CCH record for that species at Indian Knob...and I found no other species of the genus recorded from nearby.)

But I'm guessing the "munching" of the corolla edge here may have been done by someone other than the "bup" here, since this host info page indicates Acmeodera hepburnii adults feed on members of the Sunflower family (Asteraceae), and larvae feed on oaks (Quercus). Indeed, the vast majority of the current BG posts of A. hepburnii are shown on composites...with just one LA area post by Hartmut shown on a mallow family member:

 

The above, and the few other posts on non-composite flowers, are presumably just "incidental landings"...or maybe adventurous individuals that like to experiment with new tastes, as Hartmut's seems to be feeding.

Images of this individual: tag all
'Bup' on a mallow - Acmaeodera hepburnii 'Bup' on a mallow - Acmaeodera hepburnii 'Bup' on a mallow - Acmaeodera hepburnii

Moved
Moved from Acmaeodera.

Acmaeodera hepburnii.
*

Moved for expert review...

 
Thanks Blaine
Other than the strong visual agreement with A. hepburnii, I'm not certain of the particular characters that would place this to genus Acmeodera...so I just posted to Buprestidae.

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