Our insect of the week for August 11, 2025, is Agrilus obsoletoguttatus. There is no common name for this beetle [COLEOPTERA: Buprestidae]. It belongs to the family commonly called metallic wood boring beetles. The larvae often burrow just under the bark of various species of hardwood trees. There is no common name for this beetle. It was described by the French entomologist, Louis Gory in 1841. Although this species is commonly encountered, not much is known about its biology (other than larvae food plants). One of many examples of insects we often see in central Illinois which are worthy of so much more detailed study.

The insect in this photograph was collected by Mark DuBois in Marshall County, Illinois using a Malaise trap. If you are curious, the trap is not sick, this kind of insect trap was invented by the Swedish entomologist, René Malaise, in 1934.