10 Beetles Found In Colorado

Written by Thomas Godwin
Updated: July 30, 2023
Share on:

Advertisement


If you’re looking for stunning imagery, there’s no better place than the state of Colorado. Even the beetles found in Colorado exemplify the extraordinarily beautiful scenery, nature, and wildlife the state has to offer.

While beetles make up the vast majority of all living species on the earth, there are distinct, beautiful, and terrifying species found in Colorado. Since it’s a landlocked state, there are no insects that “only” call Colorado their home. But, many species of beetle are far easier to find there than anywhere else.

Colorado is a state of soaring heights, deep snow drifts, farmland, and windy days. Its airy and haunting beauty is only matched by its diversity in wildlife. If you’re interested in unique and fascinating beetles, the state of Colorado is a wonderful place to begin.

1. Cherry Curculio Beetle

Cherry curculio beetles are tiny little things, barely 1/10 of an inch. They’re called cherry curculio beetles because of their affinity for cherries. That also means tart cherries, which are a big deal in some areas of the country. The fact that a cherry curculio will ravage a cherry plant is dangerous to those who depend on their cultivation.

While they can fly, it’s more of a slow-motion leap from point A to point B. They prefer to feed on the flesh of cherry plants rather than the leaves, roots or stems. It doesn’t help that they’re so tiny, making it difficult to immediately recognize an infestation.

Typically a dark brown or brown color, cherry curculios have a heart-shaped main body, with a segmented thorax and alien eyes positioned directly in front of them.

2. Rocky Mountain Bark Beetle

bark beetle

The name bark beetle refers to any of the over 2000 species of beetles of the subfamily

Scolytinae

.

©Nikolas_profoto/Shutterstock.com

Also known as the mountain pine beetle, the rocky mountain bark beetle is a massive pest problem in the state of Colorado, especially in recent years. The number of Colorado trees the bark beetle is destroying is at a deforestation-level scale.

That’s not the only problem, either. The bark beetle is eating through trees so effectively that falling trees are now a safety hazard in campgrounds and national parks throughout the state. The rocky mountain bark beetle is fairly small, around 1/8 of an inch. Despite its size, it’s incredibly destructive when paired with thousands more.

This particular beetle resembles most standard beetles. It’s a deep black with a well-rounded body and head—the thorax resembles a connecting piece of body armor.

3. Black Carpet Beetle

Big black beetle - Carpet beetle

One of the most common big black beetles found in yards is the black carpet beetle.

©Tomasz Klejdysz/Shutterstock.com

Black carpet beetles, like all carpet beetles, are severely destructive, especially if they get in your house. Keratin is their primary diet source, and it’s mostly found in pet hair and human hair. Since both of those end up in the carpet more often than not, that’s where carpet beetles go.

To get their daily keratin intake, they chew straight through the carpet, shred the corners, and generally make a mess. They also like dried goods in the pantry, chewing through boxes and bags to get to the goodies inside.

The black carpet beetle is only different from other carpet beetles in its distinctively black coloration.

4. Beetles Found in Colorado: Sumac Flea Beetle

Sumac flea beetle (Blepharida rhois) resting on winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) stalk; species of leaf beetle of the subfamily Galerucinae. The colour of the species is red, with white dots and yellow

Sumac flea beetles mostly eat dead leaves and the organic, rotten material that falls off of felled and decaying trees.

©Chase D’animulls/Shutterstock.com

Sumac flea beetles have a unique look, with scarlet and white wings with no distinguishing pattern. It looks like someone mixed up the two paints when they fell on the floor. Right above the wings, the scarlet and white turn to a translucent amber color before fading into a redhead with slightly protruding, black eyes.

A hundred tiny dots, more like impressions, cover the wings as well, and they are distinctly visible against the white and scarlet backdrop. Sumac flea beetles rarely go after crops or foliage that most people would prefer bugs avoid. As it is, they are unique in appearance and one of the more interesting beetles found in Colorado.

They mostly eat dead leaves and the organic, rotten material that falls off of felled and decaying trees. They will occasionally attack fresh foliage and living, but it’s not something that belongs at the top of their food menu.

5. Punctured Tiger Beetle

A Punctured Tiger Beetle on a sandy trail in Door County, Wisconsin.

Punctured

tiger

beetles can run the length of their own body up to 125 times in the space of a single second.

©Paul Sparks/Shutterstock.com

A punctured tiger beetle stands up high on its legs, is a dark, musky grey/black, and has huge eyes on either side of its head, like a praying mantis. They have a series of fine, organized hairs on their thorax and the upper portions of each leg, but it would take a magnifying glass and a cooperating punctured tiger beetle to see them.

It’s a pretty common beetle in Colorado, and it’s also a predator. Their mandibles are tiny, so you can’t see that razor-sharp horror show without the assistance of a magnifying glass. Be thankful.

They’re also rocket ship fast, running the length of their own body up to 125 times in the space of a single second. Its predatory nature makes sense from a beetle in the same family as the manticore. Just be glad it’s a tiny beetle and is generally harmless to human beings.

6. Giant Black Water Beetle

Lethocerus indicus, a giant water bug on hand

This beetle has a second pair of underwings that are completely transparent.

©Pheobus/Shutterstock.com

The giant black water beetle resembles a cockroach so engorged with water that it looks nearly bursting. While “black” is a keyword in its name, they are often a very dark brown. The entire body of a giant black water beetle looks completely smooth, with a glossy shine akin to rounded river quartz.

It’s a fairly common beetle in Colorado, but the unknowing observer might call it a cockroach, for lack of a better term. They’re roughly the size of a large thumb tip and hunt with a pair of mandibles they use to grab and restrain prey in the water.

When they unfold their wings to take flight, it reveals a secondary pair of underwings that are completely transparent, with only a thin film of membrane holding everything together.

7. Elm Leaf Beetle

Larger Elm Leaf Beetle - Monocesta coryli, G. R. Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Linden, Virginia

Elm leaf beetles have unique coloration, with a central, crest shield-shaped yellow section surrounded by a darker brown outline.

©Judy Gallagher / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons – License

As their name implies, elm leaf beetles love to hang out in elm trees, where they spend most of their days gobbling down the leaves. Since a lot of people appreciate elm trees, it leads to insecticides and entire groups of elm leaf beetles heading out to find safer living quarters.

They have a unique coloration, with a central, crest shield-shaped yellow section surrounded by a darker brown outline. Their wings are delineated by these lines as well, with one central line running down the divide where the wings come together on its back.

Some additional brown or black spots are nearly perfect in their symmetry. Right before winter, they often end up in people’s homes, attempting to find warm shelter. They don’t destroy anything, like carpets or dry goods pantries, but they tend to give some people quite a fright when discovered.

8. Cardinal Beetle

A red-Headed Cardinal Beetle.

©Millie Bond – Copyright A-Z Animals

Also known as the red-headed cardinal beetle, this particular insect is a bright and vivacious red, its body shaped like a lengthy oval with pointed sides. As their name implies, they are bright red and one of the prettied beetles found in Colorado.

Of course, to appreciate them properly, you’ll need a magnifying glass. Cardinal beetles are smaller than 1/10 of an inch. They mostly hang out in gardens, shrubbery, or deep in woodland areas. It’s not uncommon to find them in parks and places within towns and cities where there is plenty of grass, trees, and shrubs.

As tiny as they are, they’re also such a bright red that it’s hard not to see one when it goes fluttering by.

9. Colorado Potato Beetle

Potato Beetle isolated

Potato beetles are a yellowish-orange color with black stripes.

©Mr. Background/Shutterstock.com

If you’re looking for a beetle with the personality and size of a box turtle, look no further than the Colorado potato beetle. They are very rounded but only grow to just shy of 1/2 an inch. The head of a Colorado potato beetle hides under the mass of its wings.

Speaking of wings, they make up most of the body and feature several midnight black lines that run down their length, highlighting a faded orange backdrop. Their heads are pumpkin orange, which is the only way you can see there is indeed a head in there somewhere.

Unfortunately, they have an appetite for vegetables we like to eat, such as squash, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, pepper, ground cherry, and potato.

10. Colorado Soldier Beetle

Brown bug working on goldenrod - A black-speckled brown bug (soldier beetle)(cantharidae or leatherwing) working hard on a bunch of yellow flowers (Rabbitbrush) (Asteraceae-Chrysothamnus nauseosus).

This beetle spends its winter as larvae, transforms into an adult in the early summer months, and lays eggs in the late summer and early fall months.

©Sean Xu/Shutterstock.com

The Colorado soldier beetle is the polar opposite of the Colorado potato beetle. It’s long, skinny, and resembles those aggravating love bucks that dominate the South. They’re about the same length, however, just shy of 1/2 an inch.

They often have faded or dirty yellow wings and thoraxes, with a single black spot on each wing, another black spot on the thorax, and a black head. Their antennae are about as long as they are and are all black as well.

Their life-cycle consists of spending winter as larvae, transforming into adults in the early summer months, and laying eggs in the late summer and early fall months. They are one of the more common beetles found in Colorado, especially entering summer.

Summary of 10 Beetles Found In Colorado

Here is a list of the ten Beetles Found In Colorado:

RankBeetles
1Curculio Beetle
2Rocky Mountain Bark Beetle Cherry
3Black Carpet Beetle
4Sumac Flea Beetle
5Punctured Tiger Beetle
6Giant Black Water Beetle
7Elm Leaf Beetle
8Cardinal Beetle
9Colorado Potato Beetle
10Colorado Soldier Beetle

Final Thoughts

There are far too many beetles in this world to leave Colorado off the list, and Colorado happens to have a very unique and diverse beetle population. Two of the beetles on the above list are associated with Colorado and are well-known by farmers.

Colorado is a beautiful state, and it’s abundant with a large variety of wildlife, including beetles. There are around 300 species of beetle in the state, which is nearly double that of many other states. If you’re a beetle aficionado and love heights, there’s no better state in the country to visit.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Sean Xu/Shutterstock.com


Share on:
About the Author

Thomas is a freelance writer with an affinity for the great outdoors and Doberman Pinschers. When he's not sitting behind the computer, pounding out stories on black bears and reindeer, he's spending time with his family, two Dobermans (Ares and Athena), and a Ragdoll cat named Heimdal. He also tends his Appleyard Ducks and a variety of overly curious and occasionally vexatious chickens.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us? Contact the AZ Animals editorial team.