A green immigrant leaf weevil, Polydrusus sericeus, as ID’ed by the good people at Bug Guide. I found this one on the grounds of the Stevens-Coolidge Place, in North Andover, MA.
A stink bug, Banasa dimiata, found on Nantucket, MA. Not a beetle, it’s a “true bug.” Confused? While “bug” is commonly used for just about all insects and spiders, technically, “true bugs” are members of the order Hemiptera. Unlike beetles, order Coleoptera, “all hemipterans have beaklike mouthparts adapted for piercing and sucking, and all are restricted to a liquid diet.” (Evans). There are of course other differences and distinctions, nicely outlined here.
Beetle & Bug
5 responses to “Beetle & Bug”
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The leaf weevil is shockingly beautiful, and I’m completely jealous. What a great bug, and a great picture!
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If I were an ancient Egyptian, I would worship him/her like a scarab beetle for sheer beauty of color and perfection of form. And I don’t even like bugs. Much. It looks like a brooch for my long-gone grandma’s sweater.
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Yes, it is a jewel, isn’t it?
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…restricted to a liquid diet
This is a bit of a fallacy regarding the true bugs – they can actually feed on solid foods, but they inject saliva which begins digestion before the resulting slurry is ingested.
I know, I’m anal.
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Umm, slurry!
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Backyard and Beyond 
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