Please ID this bug!
Hi!! I found this beetle, along with a couple of others of its type, consuming (finishing off) the leaves of my Japanese anemone plant. I did what many gardeners do and sprayed the beetles and my plant with soapy water in an attempt to deter their munching. I should mention here that my garden is a slightly raised bed of soil that is held in place by wicker fence/edging kind of stuff. The beetles fell to the ground when I sprayed them and headed towards this wicker edging stuff, climbing down the side and into where they could go in the dirt between the gaps in the wicker weave. Unfortunately, this guy didn’t make it and I scooped him up to see if I could identify him and bring him to a friend's son who collects bugs. The bugs were clearly were living in a group. They were big, about 3/4 inch to 1.25 inches in length I would say and have a bluish-black iridescent color to them. I found nothing in my garden pests section (I live in Maine, USA) of my plant books and online found very very little, including a reference at this forum(http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.phpt=16482 ) to the possibility of it being a meloe violaceus. It may be a regular local bug, but I’m not sure and only find references to the meloe violaceus living in Europe. If that’s the case, I’m wondering what it’s doing in my garden! Any insights you can provide me would be great!
Thanks!
Hi!! I found this beetle, along with a couple of others of its type, consuming (finishing off) the leaves of my Japanese anemone plant. I did what many gardeners do and sprayed the beetles and my plant with soapy water in an attempt to deter their munching. I should mention here that my garden is a slightly raised bed of soil that is held in place by wicker fence/edging kind of stuff. The beetles fell to the ground when I sprayed them and headed towards this wicker edging stuff, climbing down the side and into where they could go in the dirt between the gaps in the wicker weave. Unfortunately, this guy didn’t make it and I scooped him up to see if I could identify him and bring him to a friend's son who collects bugs. The bugs were clearly were living in a group. They were big, about 3/4 inch to 1.25 inches in length I would say and have a bluish-black iridescent color to them. I found nothing in my garden pests section (I live in Maine, USA) of my plant books and online found very very little, including a reference at this forum(http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.phpt=16482 ) to the possibility of it being a meloe violaceus. It may be a regular local bug, but I’m not sure and only find references to the meloe violaceus living in Europe. If that’s the case, I’m wondering what it’s doing in my garden! Any insights you can provide me would be great!
Thanks!
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