Checkered Beetle

Scientific Name: Enoclerus nigripes (or similar Clerid species)

Order & Family: Order: Coleoptera; Family: Cleridae

Size: Approx. 5 to 10 mm in length.

Checkered Beetle

Natural Habitat

Typically found on trees, flowers, and around logs where other wood-boring insects live.

Diet & Feeding

Adults and larvae are primarily predatory, feeding on bark beetles, wood-boring larvae, and small flies; adults may also visit flowers for pollen and nectar.

Behavior Patterns

They are active hunters and fast runners. The larvae are often found within the galleries of wood-boring insects where they prey on the inhabitant's larvae.

Risks & Benefits

Extremely beneficial to ecosystems and the forestry industry as they act as natural controllers for tree-damaging bark beetle populations. They pose no risk to humans.

Identified on: 4/22/2026