Appearance

• The goldenrod soldier beetle is about 9 to 12 millimeters in length. It is orange-yellow in color with distinctive black markings, including two elongated ovals on its wings and a round spot on its pronotum, the first segment of the thorax just behind the head. Goldenrod soldier beetles have hard exoskeletons to protect their internal organs.
  
  

Diet

• As an adult, the goldenrod soldier beetle feeds on the nectar of flowering plants, especially goldenrod, which is where it derives its name. In its larval stage, the goldenrod soldier beetle eats other insects, including cucumber beetles and locust eggs.
  
  

Life Cycle

• The adult goldenrod soldier beetle deposits its eggs after mating in the summer months. It lays its eggs on the ground, usually in leaf litter, soil, or beneath a rock. The eggs hatch and pupate within the soil during the spring months. Once they hatch, the larvae have soft bodies, chewing mouthparts like the adult beetles and six legs. The larvae are susceptible to infection by an entomopathogenic fungus, which can be fatal to the insect.
  
  

Predation

• A number of other insects and animals feed on the goldenrod soldier beetle such as bats, birds and spiders. Other species of ground-dwelling beetles and spiders feed on the goldenrod soldier beetle's larvae.