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Photo#654628
- - Tetraopes

- - Tetraopes
Lake Sutherland, San Diego County, California, USA
June 9, 2012
Size: ~15 mm

Which Asclepias?
It is probably too late to find out but knowing the plant we would know the beetle.
T. femoratus feeds only on Asclepias speciosa and T. sublaevis on A. erosa

 
This was...
... Asclepias eriocarpa. That is the "common" milkweed of the county, especially in the foothills and mountains. What does that say about which Tetraopes this is? A. erosa is the "desert" milkweed. Much less pubescent leaves.

 
T. basalis?
T. basalis feeds on A. eriocarpa. I have that information but don't know enough to recognize any Tetraopes. I wish an expert on these beetles would chime in.

 
T. basalis is on A. eriocarpa
but has purely black legs and bolder elytral markings. So this should be femoratus or sublaevis.

These milkweed species discussed here are all closely related, so it doesn't surprise me to see "host switches".

 
I have some specimens collected on this milkweed species.
When I have a little more free time, I can photograph them and post the images. Then maybe it could be nailed down.

Moved
Moved from Milkweed Longhorns.

Tetraopes all right,
but the red femurs and scape point to either T. femoratus or T. sublaevis. The lighting is such that I can't make out the shape of the thoracic umbone or whether it is sharply deliniated. T. sublaevis is the common species of southern California, and I believe that's what this is. While you can't see the umbone very well it doesn't look sharply defined, and the basal elytra punctures look distinct and sparse.

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