Bug FAQTriplax festiva
Triplax festiva · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Erotylidae
Triplax festiva is a small beetle about 4.4 to 6.5 mm long with black elytra that have an orange-red band near the base. It lives in the eastern and southern United States and southeastern Canada and feeds on fungi, making it a recognizable pleasing fungus beetle.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wing covers are black with an orange-red band covering roughly the second quarter from the base, sometimes expanding to a third of the elytra length.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 4.4 to 6.5 mm in length and 2 to 3 mm in width.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It belongs to the subfamily Tritominae, or in broader classifications to the tribe Tritomini within Erotylinae.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
This beetle is a pleasing fungus beetle that feeds on fungi and is noted for its distinctive black and orange-red coloration.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Its small compound eyes with tiny ommatidia suggest it is active during the day or twilight.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the eastern and southern United States and southeastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 26 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Georgia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Triplax festiva look like?
It has black elytra with an orange-red band near the base that can cover up to a third of the wing length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Triplax festiva found?
It occurs in the eastern and southern United States and southeastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
What does Triplax festiva eat?
It feeds on fungi, making it a pleasing fungus beetle.
Source: Wikipedia
What other beetles look similar to Triplax festiva?
It belongs to a cryptic species complex that includes T. macra, T. alachuae, T. frontalis and T. marcescens.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Erotylidae)
Blue Fungus BeetleGibbifer californicus
Pleasing Fungus BeetleMegalodacne heros
Red-banded Fungus BeetleMegalodacne fasciata
Four-spotted Fungus BeetleIschyrus quadripunctatus
Clover Stem BorerLanguria mozardiDamages trees, gardens or crops
Slender Lizard BeetleAcropteroxys gracilisDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triplax_festiva
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.