(Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
|
|||||||
IUCN Red List | not listed |
|||||||
NatureServe | not listed |
|||||||
Minnesota | not listed |
|||||||
Description |
||
Goldenrod soldier beetle is the most common soldier beetle in the Midwest. It is considered beneficial because its larvae feed on the striped cucumber beetle and other pests. Adults are ⅜″ to 9 ⁄16″ long and colorful. The body is elongated, soft, and somewhat flattened. The sides are nearly parallel. The underside is black. The thoracic shield (pronotum) is wider than long and brownish-yellow or orangish-yellow. A black spot covers most of the back (posterior) three quarters of the pronotum. The spot is widest at the front (anterior) and does not extend to the anterior margin of the pronotum. The abdominal segments are mostly black with a narrow brownish-yellow or orangish-yellow posterior margin. The forewings (elytra) are brownish-yellow or orangish-yellow and loose. They are leathery and flexible, not hardened like on most beetles. They are long but do not extend beyond the abdomen. Each elytron has a black, elongated, longitudinal mark. The black mark is usually confined to the posterior half but sometimes extends the entire length of the elytron. The inner (sutural) and outer (lateral) margins are always brownish-yellow or orangish-yellow. The head is black, large, and prominent. It is visible from above, not concealed beneath the pronotum. The antennae are slender, thread-like, black, and more than half as long as the body. The legs are long, and slender, and mostly black. The third and most robust segment of each leg (femur) is entirely black. The fourth segment (tibia) of the front leg is brownish-yellow or orangish-yellow. The end segment of each leg (tarsus) has 5 sections. The fourth tarsal segment is lobed. |
||
Size |
||
⅜″ to 9 ⁄16″ |
||
Similar Species |
||
Margined leatherwing (Chauliognathus marginatus) is darker orange. The pronotum is longer than wide and has a thick black mark extending its entire length longitudinally. Adults are active in May and June. It has been recorded Wisconsin and Iowa, but not in Minnesota. | ||
Habitat |
||
Prairies, meadows, abandoned fields, gardens, parks, and roadsides. |
||
Biology |
||
Season |
||
Early June to early October |
||
Behavior |
||
|
||
Life Cycle |
||
The female deposits clusters of eggs in the soil or in leaf litter. Larvae feed in the soil. They pupate in cells in the soil in the spring of the following year. |
||
Larva Food |
||
Grasshopper eggs, small caterpillars, beetle larvae, and soft-bodied insects. |
||
Adult Food |
||
Nectar and pollen of flowers, especially goldenrod; aphids and other small insects. |
||
Distribution |
||||
Sources |
||||
8/15/2022 | ||||
Occurrence |
||||
Common, widespread, and abundant |
||||
Taxonomy |
|||
Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) | ||
Suborder |
Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles) | ||
Infraorder |
Elateriformia | ||
Superfamily |
Elateroidea (click, firefly and soldier beetles) | ||
Family |
Cantharidae (soldier beetles) | ||
Subfamily |
Chauliognathinae | ||
Tribe |
Chauliognathini | ||
Genus |
Chauliognathus | ||
Synonyms |
|||
Chauliognathis pennsylvanica |
|||
Common Names |
|||
goldenrod soldier beetle Pennsylvania leather-wing Pennsylvania leatherwing soldier beetle |
|||
Glossary
Elytra
The hardened or leathery forewings on an insect used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying, in beetles and true bugs.
Femur
On insects and arachnids, the third, largest, most robust segment of the leg, coming immediately before the tibia. On humans, the thigh bone.
Pronotum
The saddle-shaped, exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
Tarsus
The last two to five sections of an insect’s leg, attached to the tibia; the foot.
Tibia
The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).
Visitor Photos |
|||||
Share your photo of this insect. |
|||||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption. |
|||||
Alfredo Colon |
|||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
KKM |
|||||
Saw hundreds of them on this white plant near a creek by Featherstone Lake walking trail. |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Jackie Stenger |
|||||
I came across your website as I was trying to identify the beetles that were all over my hydrangea tree. I was unable to post a photo via the website, but I live in Little Canada, MN and have attached a few photos. | ![]() |
||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
Luciearl |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
beetle on beetle |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Soldier beetle and bumble bee sharing goldenrod. |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Nanc |
|||||
Spotted in my vegetable garden. |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
ABaker |
|||||
These guys show up late every summer and seem to only have one thing in mind. I find them everywhere except on my goldenrod. They love my panicle hydrangea. Wish they would eat the millions on aphids on my common milkweed! | ![]() |
||||
![]() |
|||||
Scott Cole |
|||||
Here are a couple of pictures of a bee variety I do not recognize. They came to our allium this afternoon. Still feeding. Hundreds of them on three plants. On the hydrangea adjacent! | ![]() |
||||
![]() |
|||||
Margot Avey |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Bill Reynolds |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Gracie14055@aol.com |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
Rana Thomas |
|||||
![]() |
|||||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
|||||
![]() |
![]() |
||||
![]() |
|||||
Visitor Videos |
|||
Share your video of this insect. |
|||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
|||
Other Videos |
|||
Soldier beetle forages on wild cucumber Robert Klips |
|||
About
Uploaded on Aug 26, 2011 The Pennsylvania leatherwing, Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Cantharidae) is a soldier beetle that is very common on flowers. Here, an individual as apparently foraging for pollen on the staminate flowers of wild cucumber, Echinocystis lobata growing along a road in Delaware County, Ohio, USA on August 26, 2011. |
|||
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae: Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus) Mating Carl Barrentine |
|||
About
Uploaded on Aug 11, 2010 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (10 August 2010). |
|||
Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae: Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus) on Blossom Carl Barrentine |
|||
About
Uploaded on Jul 28, 2010 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (28 July 2010). |
|||
Visitor Sightings |
|||||
Report a sighting of this insect. |
|||||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
|||||
Alfredo Colon 8/25/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
||||
KKM 8/22/2022 |
Location: Savage, MN Saw hundreds of them on this white plant near a creek by Featherstone Lake walking trail. |
||||
Alfredo Colon 8/17/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
||||
Jackie Stenger 8/15/2022 |
Location: Little Canada, MN I came across your website as I was trying to identify the beetles that were all over my hydrangea tree. I was unable to post a photo via the website, but I live in Little Canada, MN and have attached a few photos. |
||||
Icon 8/4/2022 |
Location: Cottage Grove, MN Found it crawling up my leg. |
||||
Luciearl 9/17/2021 |
Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County beetle on beetle |
||||
Nanc 7/30/2021 |
Location: Brooklyn Park, MN Spotted in my vegetable garden. |
![]() |
|||
ABaker 8/21/2020 |
Location: Kimball, MN These guys show up late every summer and seem to only have one thing in mind. I find them everywhere except on my goldenrod. They love my panicle hydrangea. Wish they would eat the millions on aphids on my common milkweed! |
||||
Karla Tygard 6/21/2020 |
Location: Kentucky I live in Kentucky and there all over my place inside and out! I thought they were lighting bugs! Lol |
||||
akgirl35 8/19/2019 |
Location: East Saint Paul, MN Neighbor’s goldenrod is COVERED in these! Glad we finally found out what they are. They don’t seem to disrupt the bees at all, and now I want to introduce them to a neighbor across the alley with an aphid problem! |
||||
Alfredo Colon 8/13/2019 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
||||
Luciearl 8/29/2018 |
Location: Fairview Township |
||||
Scott Cole 8/15/2018 |
Location: Mankato, MN Here are a couple of pictures of a bee variety I do not recognize. They came to our allium this afternoon. Still feeding. Hundreds of them on three plants. On the hydrangea adjacent! |
||||
Margot Avey 8/31/2017 |
Location: Duluth, MN |
||||
Bill Reynolds |
Location: Pennington County MN |
||||
Rana Thomas |
Location: Savage, MN |
||||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
|||||
Felton Prairie SNA, Bicentennial Unit Felton Prairie SNA, Shrike Unit Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA, Kellogg Weaver Unit Margherita Preserve-Audubon Prairie Minnesota Valley NWR, Louisville Swamp Unit Mound Spring Prairie SNA, North Unit Mound Spring Prairie SNA, South Unit Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Hoffman Unit Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Pembina Trail Unit Prairie Creek WMA, Koester Prairie Unit Richard M. & Mathilde Rice Elliott SNA |
|||||
Last Updated: