Montana Wildlife Gardener: Calligrapha beetles

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Calligrapha beetles

Above and below are pictures of a Calligrapha beetle (Calligrapha sp.). These are stunning beetles that look similar to huge ladybird beetles and are aptly named. The beautiful, black, intricate markings on their wing cases resemble the strokes from a calligraphy pen. I have only found them on our mountain hollyhock (Iliamna rivularis) leaves (they are leaf eaters). There are several species of Calligrapha beetles and each species is loosely associated with a host plant, commonly on dogwood (Cornus spp) and willow (Salix spp). The markings and coloration on many of the species are truly astounding- and are much more beautiful in real life than these pictures do them credit.

3 comments:

Victoria WilliamsJune 25, 2009 at 8:11 AM
That is a beautiful insect. I've never seen one.
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"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte GermaneJune 25, 2009 at 10:51 PM
How unusual, and what a perfect name.
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AiyanaJune 30, 2009 at 10:05 PM
That is one beautiful bug! The markings remind me of sumi painting.
Aiyana
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About our garden

We created a wildlife garden at our home in a small city lot in the center of Missoula, Montana. Our garden uses plants native to the Missoula valley, and receives no irrigation. Our front yard is a wild Misoula prairie, with over 100 species of plants. Our backyard is a combination of rooms, more traditionally landscaped, but still using Missoula natives. The only thing we water in our yard are our vegetables. Our goal is to use native plants to create a small piece of habiat for wildlife while providing a comfortable and interetsting yard for us to enjoy. We have attracted over 70 species of birds to our yard, and countless butterflies and other insects. Our houshold uses less than 40% of the water in an average Missoula home, but we still have a lush, unique and beautful yard.

2012 Bird Arrivals to Our Garden

Spotted Towhee October 6
Mountain Chickadee August 24
Common Yellowthroat August 15
House Wren July 5
Yellow Warbler June 12
Ash-throated flycatcher* June 7 *New to our garden!
Western Tanager June 3
MacGillivray's Warbler May 28
Brown-headed cowbird May 23
Swainson's thrush May 22
Wilson's warbler May 22
Gray catbird May 18
Western wood pewee May 17
Chipping sparrow May 12
Black-chinned hummingbird May 12
Calliope hummingbird May 12
American goldfinch May 5
Hermit thrush May 5
Ruby crowned kinglet April 11
Townsend's solitaire March 9
American Robin Feb 20
Ruby crowned kinglet April 11

2011 Bird Arrivals to Our Garden

Pine Siskin December 31
House Wren June 21
Olive-sided Flycatcher June 3
Evening Grosbeak June 2
American Goldfinch June 2
Western Wood Pewee June 1
Yellow Rumped Warbler June 1
MacGillivray's Warbler May 30
Gray Catbird May 28
Bullock's Oriole May 27
Lincoln's Sparrow May 26
Wilson's Warbler May 26
Western Tanager May 24
Swainson's Thrush May 24
Calliope hummingbird May 22
Chipping sparrow May 14
Yellow Warbler May 3
Ruby crowned Kinglet April 29
White crowned Sparrow April 24
Brown Creeper April 23
Bohemian Waxwing April 16
Townsend Solitaire April 16
Varied Thrush April 16
Song Sparrow April 13
American Robin March 13
Olive-sided Flycatcher June 3

2010 Bird Arrivals to Our Garden

Dark eyed Junco October 8
Pine sisken October 9
Bohemian waxwing June 8
Gray catbird June 8
House wren June 5
Swainson's thrush May 31
Brown-headed cowbird May 30
Chipping sparrow May 30
Wilson's Warbler May 27
Western Tanager May 27
Western Wood-Pewee May 21
MacGillivary's warbler May 21
Yellow warbler May 21
Orange-crowned warbler May 21
Calliope hummingbird May 13
Ruby crowned kinglet May 10
Golden crowned kinglet April 28
Vaired Thrush April 8
American Robin March 7
Mourning dove Feb 15
Brown Creeper Jan 29

2009 Bird Arrivals to Our Garden

Mountain chickadee December 12
Pine sisken October 4
White crowned sparrow October 3
Yellow rumped warbler October 3
Dark eyed junco October 3
House wren August 22
Olive-sided Flycatcher August 16
Hairy Woodpecker August 1
Northern Oriole May 28
Warbling Vireo May 27
Western Wood Pewee May 24
Yellow Warbler May 24
Wilson's Warbler May 23
Western Tanager May 21
American Goldfinch May 20
Gray Catbird May 20
Chipping sparrow May 18
Lincoln's sparrow May 16
Dusky flycatcher May 14
Black-chinned hummingbird May 12
Rufous hummingbird May 10
Ruby crowned kinglet May 2
Callipoe hummingbird May 2
Golden crowned kinglet April 29
Bohemian Waxwing March 27
Varied Thrush March 26
Song Sparrow March 22
Brown Creeper March 16
Mourning Dove February 21
American Robin Feb 16

About me

Welcome to my blog. I am a wildlife biologist for work (and married to an excellent botanist), and I enjoy a variety of outdoor and nature pursuits. In addition to hunting, fishing, birding, gardening and backpacking, I enjoy woodworking, carpentry, cooking and canning. My love of wildlife and building things has manifested itself in my garden. More recently, I have gotten more interested in sustainable living and applying those concepts to what I grow and make. I strive to be thoughtful and careful about my impact on the environment. I try to use recycled or reused materials as much as possible in all my projects and look for ways to reduce my footprint in other areas of my life. Wildlife gardening, especially with native plants has been an extension of this and a rewarding endeavor. Furthermore, our vegetable garden supplies us with a wealth of foods we enjoy all year long.