"Color descriptions of this species may lead to confusion. Randall (1838) characterized the species as 'entirely black except the tip of the abdomen yellowish white.' Horn (1889) described the last two and Blake (1933) the last two or three ventral segments as more or less yellow. Balsbaugh and Hays (1972) reported an Alabama specimen as having faded from black to fusco-testaceous with the abdominal tip still remaining lighter. When fresh, my specimen's lighter abdominal areas were actually a bright rose-pink color. The beetle was killed in alcohol and pinned two days later. The pink hue remained for several weeks, but in just two months had faded to orange with some yellow areas. All abdominal sternites on this specimen have some lighter coloration laterally, with the fourth segment mostly and the last segment entirely pale." (Cavey, 1994).