A Bug That Gets Around!

This beautiful beetle is known as the Common Checkered Clerid or Trichodes ornatus.  The family Cleridae, as the root of the word indicates, includes mostly beetles that eat other beetles.  However, the species featured here is a pollen eater.  And, apparently, it's not fussy about what flower the pollen comes from.  In just two days, I've managed to find this beetle on five different species of flowers. From the top, they are Field Clover, Ox-eye Daisy, Purple Nightshade, Blue Gilia, and a species of Arnica.