Sap beetle

Nitidula flavomaculata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Nitidulidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Sap beetle
Photo: Andrew Meeds, CC BY

Nitidula flavomaculata is a sap-feeding beetle in the family Nitidulidae. It is found on the later stages of decay in mammalian corpses. The species is native to the Mediterranean region and has become naturalized in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Nitidula flavomaculata belongs to the sap-feeding beetle family Nitidulidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is associated with the later stages of decay in mammalian corpses.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Utah, California, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri, South Dakota.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Sap beetle photo 2
Photo: Andrew Meeds, CC BY
Sap beetle photo 3
Photo: Jared Shorma, CC BY

Same family (Nitidulidae)

Common Pollen BeetleCommon Pollen BeetleBrassicogethes aeneusDamages trees, gardens or cropsFour-spotted Sap BeetleFour-spotted Sap BeetleGlischrochilus quadrisignatusDamages trees, gardens or cropsPicnic BeetlePicnic BeetleGlischrochilus fasciatusSmall Hive BeetleSmall Hive BeetleAethina tumidaCan damage your homeDried Fruit BeetleDried Fruit BeetleCarpophilus hemipterusRufous Sap BeetleRufous Sap BeetleEpuraea rufa

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitidula_flavomaculata

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.