Author Topic: Mingus Trail  (Read 3296 times)

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Offline The15thMember

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Mingus Trail
« on: March 14, 2024, 12:21:27 pm »
My family and I hiked up to the Mingus Family Cemetery yesterday in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  I saw so many aggregations of little Andrena mining bees emerging.  We saw a lot of eastern comma butterflies puddling along the trail, although they were too fast for me to get any good pictures of them with my phone camera. We also found this beautiful beetle, which I can't seem to ID.  I'm inclined to think it's some sort of dynastid beetle, but even after scouring Bugguide for around a hour, I couldn't seem to find any that are this color.  And Google was no help, since "large green beetle NC" and other related searches just gives me page after page of June bugs.  We also saw some interesting mushrooms and some beautiful moss sporophytes. 


I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: Mingus Trail
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2024, 01:25:54 pm »
15th, My bride says it's likely a Japanese Beetle. That might help your search.
Neill Sayers
Herbhome Bees
USDA Zone 7a

Offline The15thMember

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Re: Mingus Trail
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2024, 05:26:34 pm »
I don't think so.  Here's a Japanese beetle.  Notice the different colors and the different head.  Also this beetle had soil caked on its legs, indicating it digs, which is something Japanese beetle adults don't do, to my knowledge.  Plus this beetles was 2-3 times larger than a Japanese beetle.

I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Mingus Trail
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2024, 11:09:31 am »
15th, My bride says it's likely a Japanese Beetle. That might help your search.

In my part of the country,  it's too early for Japanese Beetles.  But, she was seeing butterflies, so maybe.

Offline neillsayers

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Re: Mingus Trail
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2024, 08:59:04 pm »
Could be a dung beetle.
Neill Sayers
Herbhome Bees
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: Mingus Trail
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2024, 11:02:03 pm »
The BugGuiders were able to ID it to genus level for me.  It's some sort of earth-boring scarab of the Geotrupes genus.  I was looking in right superfamily, but the wrong family.  :-[  https://bugguide.net/node/view/12537
I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led.  And through the air, I am she that walks unseen.