Windows on Wildlife: Unidentified Insect

Welcome to the fourth edition of Windows on Wildlife!  If you have a recent post about wildlife you’d like to share – it can be anything: birds, insects, mammals – scroll down to the end of the post and add your site; a compilation of all additions will be posted the following week.  Please don’t forget to link back here (I’d love it if you’d add the Windows on Wildlife button on the sidebar to your post) and visit other blogs that have articles to share.  Thanks for stopping by!

My husband and I found several of these little… beetles? on our walk through a meadow at Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge in coastal New Hampshire. Their bright red color really made them stand out. I’d have to image that their bright coloration is meant to warn predators of a poisonous meal (real or fake).

I’m the first to admit that identifying insects is tough, and as I didn’t collect one of these to examine close up, I don’t have much of a chance of doing so now. The closest I could get was the leaf beetle group.  If anyone out there is entomology-minded, feel free to share what this critter is.

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Last week, Jenny at Cheetahs in My Shoes shared some beautiful and varied snails – it’s always amazing to me how much diversity there is in the insect world.  Share your wildlife encounters through the link system below!