Astylus bourgeoisi is a colorful soft-winged flower beetle (family: Melyridae) native to the high-altitude Andes mountains of South America. Living high up between 2,400 and 4,000 meters (7,800 to 13,000 feet) above sea level, these little mountain dwellers spend their days buzzing around wildflowers, with a special love for daisies, dandelions, and thistles. Farmers sometimes view them as minor garden pests because they chew on delicate flower petals while searching for food. However, they carry so much pollen on their bodies that their effectiveness rivals that of honeybees, making them vital pollinators in cold mountain ecosystems! Down in the soil, their young grubs lead a completely different life. Covered in long, fuzzy reddish-brown hairs, the larvae live underground beneath fallen leaf litter, munching happily on decaying plant matter.I crossed paths with several of these beautifully decorated, somewhat clumsy beetles during a bright, sunny afternoon in Nono—a tranquil mountain village nestled high in the Andes just outside of Quito, Ecuador.