I don't think I've seen one in my garden, and if I did I'm afraid I'd assume he was chomping on the rose. Always good to be able to recognize the good guys. Quite a few of my buds have holes in them which is so frustrating, but spring has more than beautiful flowers to offer. I'm seeing mildew now but I tell myself it's temporary.

I have recently been trying to really learn more about the different buggers since I have so many more roses now than I ever have had in the past. I watched him hang out on Young Lycidas for 2 days... not one bite taken out of Young Lycidas, but I did see him eating aphids! In the past I probably would have just knocked him off or squished him. But now I'm trying to watch the different buggers and learn which ones are which. This guy seems to be a meat eater, not a plant eater, so he can stay.

It sure looks like a soldier beetle, also called a leatherwing and other names. Does it have dark segmented antennae and two black eye dots on the sides of its head? If it was eating aphids, it's a soldier beetle! Lucky you. :-). Carol

I think this is the kind of soldier bug we had in 2013. Hilariously, there was one bug in the center of every rudbeckia and coneflower, guarding its turf. They mysteriously left after a few hours, but did no harm. Hopefully, they ate a few bad guys first. Diane

Spined Soldier Bug

Those are great photos Diane! I saw today that Arbico sells your soldier bug as a beneficial predator bug. So you saved some money there! Nice! http://www.arbico-organics.com/product/spined-soldier-bug-podisus-maculaventris/beneficial-insects-generalists