Adult Ornate Checkered Beetles primarily eat pollen from Milkweeds, Mariposa Lilies and plants in the Sunflower family. They will eat soft bodied insects if they are available. Adult Ornate Checkered Beetles are active Spring into Summer. As larvae they live in the nests of leaf cutting bees. This pair of Ornate Checkered Beetles are feeding on Asclepias fascicularis, Narrow Leaf Milkweed.