Soft-winged Flower Beetle
Attalus sp.
This beetle was observed in the Superstition Mountains Wilderness on 03 May 2009. It is upon a fruiting stem of Twinberry (Menodora scabra).
Melyridae -- Soft-winged Flower Beetle Family
These small (2 to 8 mm), colorful beetles occur on a variety of plants, particularly those that are in flower. Their feeding activity as adult beetles is concentrated in the flowers where it appears their main food is pollen and some nectar. There are other genera and many species and the full story as to how the larvae mature as grubs, on what and where they feed, and their seasonal occurrence are facts still awaiting discovery by attentive naturalists.
The genus name Attalus is shared with an ancient Greek ruler of Pergamon.