Grapevine Beetle - Pelidnota punctata
**Sorry for the super blurry shot, but I posted it anyway because I find it so fascinating the way beetles fly with their elytra held up. It's so cool. The elytra help produce lift in flight, but they aren't that efficient because, although the elytra serve as protection, they also hinder beetles in flight, often making them clumsy fliers.
This beetle was clumsily flying around my deck, taking out spider webs as it went - note that it is covered in spider silk. It landed on my hand and hung out for a few minutes before it continued it's awkward flight. I took this shot just as it was leaving.
Description: A large, golden-yellowish orange scarab beetle with peripheral spots on the pronotum and elytra.
Habitat: Attracted to a light at night in a rural area.
The grapevine beetle, ''Pelidnota punctata'', also known as the spotted June beetle or the spotted pelidnota, is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae , situated in the subfamily Rutelinae. Grapevine beetles are common in the north and central United States and Eastern Canada, but do relatively little damage to their host plants. The beetles fly at a fast speed, usually in a curving flight.
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