Dichelonyx valida “May Beetle” Scarabaeidae
Lolo National Forest, Bitterroot Mountains, MT
April 19, 2015
Robert Niese
These charismatic, iridescent Scarab beetles are relatively common throughout the Pacific Northwest in the spring. The adults forage on the leaves of many species of conifers and deciduous trees. While the taxonomy for these species is still quite a mess, our region has two distinct species groups. Members of the D. valida group have a large ridge down the center of their pronotum while members of the D. backi group lack a ridge.
Northwest Naturalist 