Elusive
Guides
Acrocera
small-headed flies
Acrocera is a genus of small-headed flies in the family Acroceridae. These flies are endoparasitoids of spiders, with larvae developing internally within arachnid hosts. The genus is one of the most species-rich in North America and includes regionally rare species such as A. orbiculus. Adults are rarely encountered due to their brief lifespans and elusive behavior.
Buprestis confluenta
Yellow-spotted Jewel Beetle
Buprestis confluenta is a striking metallic wood-boring beetle distinguished by its emerald green to coppery-brown coloration with dense, more or less confluent yellow flecks across the elytra. The species is primarily associated with dead cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in central and western North America. Despite the abundance of suitable host trees in some regions, it remains uncommonly encountered and is considered elusive by collectors. Adults are typically found on large, dead, barkless cottonwood trunks.
Neoclytus approximatus
Neoclytus approximatus is a longhorned beetle (Cerambycidae) described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1862. It is among the most uncommonly encountered longhorned beetles in North America, with a disjunct distribution across the Great Plains and scattered records from the eastern United States. The species' larval host plant remains unknown, making it one of the most elusive cerambycids on the continent.