What You Need to Know About the Palo Verde Beetle
What You Need to Know About the Palo Verde Beetle on KVOA.com; July 14th, 2017
Palo Verde Beetles are found all over Southern Arizona. But what exactly are they?
The Palo Verde Beetle lives underground for two or three years before coming out for the last month of its life. During that month, they set out to find a mate. Finding a Palo Verde Beetle is typically a good thing. They emerge when the ground becomes wet from monsoon rain.
Catherine Bartlett from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum says though they appear big and scary, they pose very little danger. The beetles are not poisonous or venomous. However, they do have a pretty large mandible that may hurt if it pinches you or your pets.
Some people believe that they pose a threat to their gardens or other vegetation. Bartlett says this is not true. As grubs, the beetle feeds on the roots of the Palo Verde Tree, hence their name. They don’t eat enough of the root to cause any major threat to a healthy Palo Verde Tree.