Someone help me identify this beetle!?

Question

This evening my kittens were outside playing, and they chased this beetle inside. I had never seen it before. It looks like a ladybug but much much much larger. It had exactly 6 spots on it- 2 on each side of its body in a downward row of 3.

The beetle was a caramel orange color, and it had wings like a ladybug. It was a rectangular shape with smooth round edges.

Anyone know what it was?

Answer 1

You knew it even though you didn't!

Ladybug beetles are one of the more familiar beetles, and are recognized by their round,

often spotted bodies.  They range in size from 1/16 to 3/8 inch in length and most are shiny

red, orange, or yellow with black markings.  Some resemble leaf beetles but have 3, rather

than 4, tarsel segments.

Both adults and larvae are predators, mostly of aphids.  This single trait makes them very

important to the home gardener as well as large crop producers.  They are common on

plants and often overwinter as adults in large swarms, under fallen leaves or bark.

http://www.no-pest.com/LadybugBeetles.ht...

Answer 2

It sounds like the Mexican bean beetle to me, related to the Ladybug beetle. But unlike the Ladybug, the bean beetle eats beans and recks havoc in the garden.