Pleasing Fungus Beetle!

Pleasing Fungus Beetle, Megalodacne fasciata, adorns my door jamb

In what could only be ascribed to the cosmic tentacles of Beetledom reaching through the ether and bestowing Good Karma on me, I walked out my front door almost immediately after making the last post, and saw the above. A Pleasing Fungus Beetle! Its color scheme even closely resembles the Tomentose Burying Beetle that I had just written about.

The trip to Krogers was temporarily tabled, and back inside I rushed, to grab the Panasonic Lumix and photo-document this extraordinary insect. The beetle was attracted to the porch lights, and from time to time I get some interesting critters out there, but this is the first Pleasing Fungus Beetle that I've noticed.

As the name implies, these beetles feed on fungi, especially the fruiting bodies. Apparently the genus Megalodacne, which includes this species, goes for those woody bracket fungi that stick like shelves from stumps and trunks.

Needless to say, I was quite pleased by the appearance of this little beauty.