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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Cleroidea » Checkered Beetles (Cleridae) » Clerinae » Enoclerus » Enoclerus lecontei
Photo#870985
Paiute Mountain Clerid - Enoclerus lecontei
Copyright © 2013 Aaron Schusteff

Paiute Mountain Clerid - Enoclerus lecontei
West of summit of Paiute Mountain, Kern County, California, USA
July 16, 2010
Found on a field trip with Dennis Haines and Will Chatfield-Taylor. The clerid was on a limestone outcrop surrounded by the rare buckwheat Eriogonum breedlovei var. breedlovei.

Looks to me like Enoclerus lecontei is a good match. Compare with thumbnails below, and this curated image by Jacques Rifkin:


Images of this individual: tag all
Paiute Mountain Clerid - Enoclerus lecontei Paiute Mountain Clerid - Enoclerus lecontei Paiute Mountain Clerid - Enoclerus lecontei Paiute Mountain Clerid - Enoclerus lecontei
Contributed by Aaron Schusteff on 30 November, 2013 - 9:21pm
Last updated 15 January, 2018 - 6:01pm

Moved
Moved from Checkered Beetles.
… Aaron Schusteff, 30 November, 2013 - 10:46pm

More info
I found more images and info on E. lecontei...I'm nearly certain that's what this is. I added links for more images to the info page.

Apparently E. lecontei are predators of western pine beetles (Dendroctonus brevicomis), see this link for more info. Lynn Monroe's post mentions her E. lecontei was found on Ponderosa pine. There are no Ponderosa pines on Paiute Mountain (according to "A Flora of Kern County"), but there are Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), which are closely related to Ponderosa pine, as well as scattered Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana). I'm betting these two pines are also hosts to the western pine beetle...or at least to other prey of E. lecontei.

So I guess the presence of the limestone and buckwheat are just incidental.
… Aaron Schusteff, 30 November, 2013 - 9:49pm

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