Those beetle larvae I previously noticed all over the coyote brush at the marsh are now turning into adult beetles. Specifically, Trirhabda flavolimbata, a type of skeletonizing leaf beetle. Here’s a shot I got of one at the marsh last Saturday:
I’ve also seen them at the Carpinteria bluffs. (Thanks to William in both cases for pointing them out. Even though I was specifically looking for them, it took my perceptive 11-year-old to actually find them.)
The number of adult beetles on the coyote brush is still pretty small; I saw a few bushes that had 4 or 5 beetles climbing around in one area, but if the vast number of larvae I was seeing in the marsh a month or so ago is any indication, we’re due for a lot more beetles to appear in the weeks ahead.