Figeater beetle

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Figeater beetle
Figeater beetle.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Cotinis
Species:
C. mutabilis
Binomial name
Cotinis mutabilis
(Gory & Percheron, 1883)

Cotinis mutabilis, also known as the figeater beetle (also green fruit beetle or fig beetle), is a member of the scarab beetle family. It belongs to the subfamily Cetoniinae, comprising a group of beetles commonly called flower chafers since many of them feed on pollen, nectar, or petals. [1] Its habitat is primarily the southwestern United States (including California [2] ) and Mexico. [1] Figeater beetles are often mistaken for green June beetles ( Cotinis nitida ) and occasionally Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica), which occur in the eastern US. [1]

Contents

Life cycle

Various larval stages; one shows typical C-shaped position; another stretches out upside down to move--legs are visible at upper end. PC180002JuneBeetleLarvae wb.jpg
Various larval stages; one shows typical C-shaped position; another stretches out upside down to move—legs are visible at upper end.

After mating, eggs are laid in decaying matter or compost piles, which provide sustenance for the emerging larvae. Figeater beetle larvae, commonly called "crawly backs", [3] grow up to 2 in (5.1 cm) and are thick and white with a dark head. They have six small, ineffectual legs; to move, they roll onto their backs and propel themselves upside down, using the stiff dark hairs on their backs to gain traction. At rest, they curl into a firm C shape.

Pupation occurs in the spring; adults emerge from July to September (varies with location). Adult figeater beetles grow to approximately 1.25 inches (3.2 cm). [4] They are active during daylight hours, often congregating in the shade of trees near choice breeding grounds to find mates. They make a loud buzzing sound similar to that of carpenter bees, possibly because they do not need to open their elytra in order to fly, an ability shared with many other flower beetles. [1]

Taxonomy

C. mutabilis is often confused with the green June beetle ( Cotinis nitida ). [1] Both are members of the flower beetle subfamily [5] (Cetoniinae), and are similar in appearance, but the green June beetle is smaller, and its range is in the eastern United States. The only possible crossover of both species is in Texas.[ citation needed ] They are also occasionally mistaken for Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica), which occur in the eastern US. [1]

Diet

A figeater beetle eating a nectarine CotinisMutabilis 7864.JPG
A figeater beetle eating a nectarine

The figeater beetle is native to moister areas of the American southwest, where its natural diet includes fruit from cacti and sap from desert trees. [1] Their range has expanded considerably since the 1960s with the increasing availability of home gardens, compost piles, and organic mulch. [1] [4] The larvae eat decomposing organic matter, such as that found in compost piles, manure piles, and organic mulch, and occasionally plant roots, such as the roots of grass in lawns. [1] [4]

The adult's primary food has become fruit in gardens and orchards. [1] They prefer sweet food, which includes the leaves, flowers, and saps of some plants and ripe or overripe fruit. [1] Fruit with tough skins are too hard for them to bite through, [1] [4] so they most often eat softer-skinned fruit such as figs, peaches, grapes, [4] pears, and tomatoes, among others. [1] The beetles are particularly attracted to ripening and fermenting fruit, which emit gases that lead the beetles to them, [1] and to fruit that other animals or insects have already damaged. [1] In most small gardens, the adult beetles are minor pests that do little damage; however, they can swarm on soft or damaged fruit and have been known to eat an entire garden grape or fig crop. [1] They are not considered to be an important pest because they do not damage lawns as larvae and trees as much as June beetles or Japanese beetles. [1] [4] However, they have the potential to be considered of agricultural importance in the future. [6]

Habitat & Distribution

Distribution of C. mutabilis ranges from the US to northern South America, and has been recorded in almost all of Mexico. They inhabit tropical and subtropical forests, oak forests, and cloud forests, as well as many different types of vegetation and land in urban areas between 0 - 2,700 meters above sea level. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cetonia aurata</i> Species of beetle

Cetonia aurata, called the rose chafer or the green rose chafer, is a beetle, 20 millimetres long, that has a metallic structurally coloured green and a distinct V-shaped scutellum. The scutellum is the small V-shaped area between the wing cases; it may show several small, irregular, white lines and marks. The underside of the beetle has a coppery colour, and its upper side is sometimes bronze, copper, violet, blue/black, or grey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese beetle</span> Species of insect

The Japanese beetle is a species of scarab beetle. Due to the presence of natural predators, the Japanese beetle is not considered a pest in its native Japan, but in North America and some regions of Europe, it is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants. Some of these plants include rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornamental plant</span> Plant that is grown for decorative purposes

Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that improve on the original species in qualities such as color, shape, scent, and long-lasting blooms. There are many examples of fine ornamental plants that can provide height, privacy, and beauty for any garden. These ornamental perennial plants have seeds that allow them to reproduce. One of the beauties of ornamental grasses is that they are very versatile and low maintenance.

<i>Popillia</i> Genus of beetles

Popillia is a genus of scarab beetles. The most familiar species is the Japanese beetle which is responsible for crop losses around the world, and is near the top of the insect pest lists year after year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June beetle</span> Index of animals with the same common name

June beetle is the common name for several scarab beetles that appear around June in temperate parts of North America:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organic horticulture</span> Organic cultivation of fruit, vegetables, flowers or ornamental plants

Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety preservation.

In agriculture and gardening, a beneficial organism is any organism that benefits the growing process, including insects, arachnids, other animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes. Benefits include pest control, pollination, and maintenance of soil health. The opposite of beneficial organisms are pests, which are organisms deemed detrimental to the growing process. There are many different types of beneficial organisms as well as beneficial microorganisms. Also, microorganisms have things like salt and sugar in them. Beneficial organisms include but are not limited to: Birds, Bears, Nematodes, Insects, Arachnids, and fungi. The ways that birds and bears are considered beneficial is mainly because they consume seeds from plant and spread them through feces. Birds also prey on certain insects that eat plants and hinder them from growing these insects are known as non beneficial organisms. Nematodes are considered beneficial because they will help compost and provide nutrients for the soil the plants are growing in. Insects and arachnids help the growing process because they prey on non beneficial organisms that consume plants for food. Fungi help the growing process by using long threads of mycelium that can reach very long distances away from the tree or plant and bring water and nutrients back to the tree or plant roots.

This is an alphabetical index of articles related to gardening.

<i>Euphoria</i> (beetle) Genus of beetles

Euphoria is a genus of scarab beetles in the subfamily Cetoniinae, the flower or fruit chafers. They are native to the Americas, where they are distributed from Canada to Argentina. They are most diverse in Mexico and Central America. As of 2012, there are 59 species in the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flower chafer</span> Subfamily of beetles

Flower chafers are a group of scarab beetles comprising the subfamily Cetoniinae. Many species are diurnal and visit flowers for pollen and nectar, or to browse on the petals. Some species also feed on fruit. The group is also called fruit and flower chafers, flower beetles and flower scarabs. There are around 4,000 species, many of them still undescribed.

<i>Cotinis nitida</i> Species of beetle

Cotinis nitida, commonly known as the green June beetle, June bug or June beetle, is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in the eastern United States and Canada, where it is most abundant in the South. It is sometimes confused with the related southwestern species figeater beetle Cotinis mutabilis, which is less destructive.

<i>Eupoecila australasiae</i> Species of beetle

Eupoecila australasiae, commonly known as the fiddler beetle or rose chafer, is a colourful green- or yellow-and-black member of the scarab beetle family from eastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutelinae</span> Subfamily of beetles

Rutelinae or shining leaf chafers is a subfamily of the scarab beetles. It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains some 200 genera with over 4,000 described species in 7 tribes. Several taxa have yet to be described. A few recent classifications include the tribe Hopliini, but this is not generally accepted.

<i>Scolia dubia</i> Species of wasp

Scolia dubia, also known as the two-spotted scoliid wasp or a blue-winged scoliid wasp, is a species in the family Scoliidae.

<i>Cotinis</i> Genus of beetles

Cotinis is a genus of scarab beetles in the subfamily Cetoniinae found throughout North and South America. At least two species are common pests. The genus was erected by Hermann Burmeister in 1842.

<i>Pyronota festiva</i> Species of beetle

Pyronota festiva, commonly known as mānuka beetle or mānuka chafer, is a member of the genus Pyronota of the beetle family Scarabaeidae. It is a scarab beetle endemic to New Zealand, and is commonly found in mānuka trees, hence the beetle's name. In some areas it is considered a pasture pest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnat</span> Any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera

A gnat is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. Most often they fly in large numbers, called clouds. "Gnat" is a loose descriptive category rather than a phylogenetic or other technical term, so there is no scientific consensus on what constitutes a gnat. Some entomologists consider only non-biting flies to be gnats. Certain universities and institutes also distinguish eye gnats: the Smithsonian Institution describes them as "non-biting flies, no bigger than a few grains of salt, ... attracted to fluids secreted by your eyes".

<i>Cyclocephala lurida</i> Species of beetle (southern masked chafer)

Cyclocephala lurida, the southern masked chafer, is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae which is native to the southeastern United States. It is a brown beetle with a black head, with an adult length of 10 to 14 mm. The adult beetles cause no harm, but the eggs are laid underground and the developing larvae feed on grass roots and can kill turf under dry conditions.

<i>Protaetia cuprea</i> Species of chafer

Protaetia cuprea, also known as the copper chafer, is a species of chafer in the family Scarabaeidae. This species is also known as the rose chafer and has a wide geographic distribution, extending from Canary Islands, Portugal, and Spain to the west towards Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, Mongolia, and North China. This species forages for pollen from flowers and fruits, such as apples, from trees. However, since fruit is scarce in the spring and winter, they only transition from a diet of pollen to a diet of fruits in the summer. Since pollen is richer in proteins and lipids than carbohydrates, while fruit is richer in carbohydrates, they are able to travel longer when on a fruit diet; this is due to their increased aerobic performance when fueled by high-carbohydrate content.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Constance M. Vadheim, ed. (August 24, 2013). "Green Fig Beetle (Figeater Beetle/ Green Fruit Beetle) – Cotinis mutabilis". Mother Nature's Backyard. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  2. "Managing Pests in Gardens: Fruit: Invertebrates: Green fruit beetle". UC Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM). UC Agriculture (UC ANR). 2005-05-20. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  3. Daniel Marlos, ed. (January 10, 2010). "Crawly Back: Figeater Larva". What's That Bug?. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 David Faulkner. "Cotinis mutabilis". Field Guide: Arthropods. San Diego Natural History Museum. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  5. Eaton, Eric R.; Kaufman, Kenn (2007). Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 138. ISBN   978-0-618-15310-7.
  6. 1 2 Guzmán-Vásquez, Héctor Miguel; Granados-Echegoyen, Carlos Alejandro; Alonso-Hernandez, Nancy; García-Ramírez, María de Jesús; Serrano-Rodríguez, Annery; Diego-Nava, Fidel; Zárate-Nicolás, Baldomero Hortencio (March 2023). "New Records of Scarab Beetles from the State of Campeche, Mexico, with Comments on their Agricultural and Ecological Importance". Southwestern Entomologist . 48 (1): 115. doi:10.3958/059.048.0111. S2CID   258062973.