Hobbies And Interests
White-spotted Sawyer Beetle
The white-spotted sawyer beetle is black with a white spot on its back and a spike on each side of its throat. Females have white speckles on their wings as well. White-spotted sawyer beetles can grow to lengths of three-quarters of an inch to almost an inch. Their antennae can be three times longer than the body. White-spotted sawyer beetles prefer conifers, like fir, pine and spruce trees.
Varied Carpet Beetle
The varied carpet beetle is a variety of colors, including black, tan, white and yellow. It gets its name from its propensity to feast on carpets. While larvae prefer to eat dead bugs and spiders, adults can cause trouble indoors where they eat pollen, cotton, wool and silk clothing and cereal. Adult varied carpet beetles do not grow to be very big, with sizes ranging from .08 inches to .16 inches long.
Other Black Beetles
You will find several other types of black beetles in Utah. Blister beetles are a threatening type of beetle. As a defense mechanism, blister beetles release a toxic substance that causes blisters on human skin but can cause death to animals that consume the blister beetle. Ground beetles are black with red, green or purple markings. Saltceder Leaf beetles, which are green and black, are indigenous to China but they were brought to Utah to control the population of Saltcedar plants. A rove beetle is another black type commonly found in Utah.
Milkweed Bug
The milkweed bug is black, orange and red; it grows to be almost half an inch long. The milkweed bug feeds on the nectar of various plants, including that of the milkweed plant, which is how the bug got its name. It is not destructive to garden plants or crops. Young milkweed Bugs are red with black antennae. They hatch from red eggs in the spring. The milkweed bug remains active during the winter.
German Cockroaches
One of the most notorious, pesky insects is the German cockroach, or croton bug. The German cockroach is smaller than other varieties of cockroaches; it is black and brown. German cockroaches can be found anywhere there is food; they usually hide in dark spaces during the day. If you see a German cockroach in daylight hours, you should call an exterminator--your home is likely to be infested. Cockroaches have sticky feet that allow them to walk on surfaces like walls.