The pleasing fungus beetle, Gibbifer californicus, is native to Colorado and parts of Wyoming, Kansas, Arizona and New Mexico. Throughout this range they are most commonly encountered in moist riparian woodlands with large trees. Locally, they are found in stands of ponderosa at lower elevations and in aspen at higher elevations. The very best place to find them is around the bracket fungi that grow profusely on rotting logs. Adult beetles feed on nectar, pollen and the bracket fungi growing on rotting logs. Larvae feed exclusively on the bracket fungi, so if you want to see adult and larval pleasing fungus beetles, search rotting logs with bracket fungi. Beetles overwinter as adults and lay eggs on rotting logs near bracket fungi in spring. The larvae feast on fungi and grow quickly. As they grow, they begin to congregate and move to the underside of the log, where they hang and form pupae. Dense clusters of hanging pupae are reminiscent of a bat roost, but on a smaller scale. The pupae transform to unpigmented adults that synthesize and accumulate blue pigment. Adults are active for the remainder of the summer and into the fall.

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