Cotalpa lanigera
"Goldsmith Beetle"
Family: Scarabaeidae

The common name for this species is the "goldsmith beetle." The goldsmith beetle is found throughout the southeastern United States, and range from Ontario to Florida and west to the Mississippi River basin. The goldsmith beetle ranges in size from 20 to 26 mm. The body is egg-shaped, large and heavy. The scutellum, thorax, and head are yellow to shagreen gold with some metallic blended in. Wooly, dense hair covers the underside of the beetle.

The beetles are found in woods or fields near woods. The adult female scatters eggs on the soil below a tree. The larvae must burrow to reach their food source, which is rotten logs or the roots of a nearby tree. The larvae pupates in an earthen cell at the end of the first year. The adults appear between May and July, and feed on the foliage of hardwood including poplar.

Larvae play an important role in recycling dung, and help the decaying process of dead logs, but adults can be pest by destroying tree foliage. The beetle uses its front tibiae for digging and rolling. Edgar Allen Poe referred to this beetle in one of his short stories as the "gold bug."

Josh Breda
ENT 301, Fall 2001