Rustler Park Campground, Chiricahua Mountains
Cochise County, Arizona
Coordinates: 31.906771, -109.277239
Elevation: 2,550 m
July 21, 2025
Coordinates: 31.906771, -109.277239
Elevation: 2,550 m
Found four of these beetles by beating pines and bushes
Determined by Salvador Vitanza
Confirmed by Art Evans who said: “I collected a singleton of this beetle at Rustlers Park in 2022. This is the form described by George Horn in 1882 as Aulacoscelis purpurea. It was later syonymized with A. candezei by Monros (1954) who considered Horn’s species “…only a minor color variation without any significance.” Monros noted that the colors of the head, pronotum and elytra in this species are variable. At least for now, all specimens of Aulacoscelis from Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas that have more or less three longitudinal carinae, with the middle one shorter and relatively oblique, should be considered A. candezei.”