Two of us were hiking on a beautiful ridge trail and had stopped for a rest and a snack. It was a gorgeous day, cool breezes keeping us comfortable in the shade of an old tree. As I ate my snack I took out my butterfly binoculars and studied the various little creatures inhabiting that part of the mountain. I saw a beetle and recognized it as the Pleasing Fungus Beetle, with its beautiful blue spotted coat. The beetle and I spent a delightful quarter of an hour together. I watched it climb over bits of debris, ending up on a small stone. The stone sparkled with thousands of tiny pieces of mica. The beetle seemed to like the stone, and wandered around, eventually centering on a spot which it circled many times before settling down for a brief respite. It reminded me of a dog going around in circles before plopping down for a nap. After a few more journeys around the stone, my friend spread its blue wings and flew about 6 inches to the next rock, and then tumbled out of my view.

Pleasing Fungus Beetle