Flower chafer | |
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Cetonia aurata , the green rose chafer | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Scarabaeidae |
Subfamily: | Cetoniinae Leach, 1815 |
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.
Ten tribes are presently recognized: Cetoniini, Cremastocheilini, Diplognathini, Goliathini, Gymnetini, Phaedimini, Schizorhinini, Stenotarsiini, Taenioderini, and Xiphoscelidini. The former tribes Trichiini and Valgini were elevated in rank to subfamily. [1] [2] The tribe Gymnetini is the biggest of the American tribes, and Goliathini contains the largest species, and is mainly found in the rainforest regions of Africa.
Adult flower chafers are usually brightly coloured beetles, often metallic, and somewhat flattened in shape. The insertions of the antennae are visible from above, while the mandibles and labrum are hidden by the clypeus. The elytra lack a narrow membranous margin and are truncate to expose the pygidium. The abdominal spiracles are diverging so that several lie on the abdominal sternites with at least one exposed. The fore coxae are conical and produced ventrally, while the mid coxae are transverse or only slightly oblique. The mesothoracic epimera is visible from above. The tarsi are each equipped with a pair of simple (not forked) tarsal claws of subequal size. [3] [4]
A feature possessed by adults of many flower chafers, especially Cetoniini, is lateral emargination of the elytra. [5]
Larvae are stout-bodied and very hairy with short legs. The head is partly covered by the prothorax. Each antenna has the apical segment as wide as the penultimate segment. The galea and lacinia are used to form a mala. The anal cleft is transverse. The mandible has a ventral stridulating area. The labrum is symmetrical with a deeply pigmented notch on each side of the midline. [3]
Adult cetoniines are herbivorous, being found on flowers (from which they consume nectar and pollen), tree sap and rotting fruit. Larvae generally live and feed in decaying plant matter (including decaying wood) or soil. In captivity, cetoniine larvae will feed on soft fruit. [3] [4]
Many species in the tribe Cremastocheilini are known to be predaceous, feeding on hymenopteran larvae or soft-bodied nymphs of Auchenorrhyncha. Spilophorus spp. have been noted feeding on the nesting material and excrement of South African passerine birds, [6] while Spilophorus maculatus has been recorded feeding on Oxyrhachis sp. nymphs [7] and Hoplostomus fuligineus is known to feed on the brood of honey bees in South Africa and the pupae of the wasp Belonogaster petiolata . Campsiura javanica feeds on the larvae of Ropalidia montana in southern India. [8] Cremastocheilus stathamae feeds on ants of the genus Myrmecocystus . [9]
In terms of movement, adults are considered some of the best flyers among beetles. They can hover above and land on flowers or fruit. When threatened by predators, they escape by either performing a rush take off or by falling toward the ground and then flying before impact. Many cetoniines fly with their elytra closed, as their hindwings can unfold and slide out under the elytra during flight (thanks to the emargination of the elytra). [5]
Larvae of some taxa can crawl on their backs using their tergal folds, which are covered in strong bristles. Others crawl on their legs. [3] [5]
The following list contains the genera and subtribes in ten tribes of subfamily Cetoniinae, according to Catalogue of Life and Scarabaeidae of the World (2023). [1]
Authority: Leach, 1815
Authority: Burmeister & Schaum, 1841
Authority: Burmeister, 1842
Authority: Latreille, 1829
Authority: Kirby, 1827
Authority: Schoch, 1894
Authority: Burmeister, 1842
Authority: Kraatz, 1880
Authority: Mikšić, 1976
Authority: Krikken, 1984
Rhomborhina is a genus of large scarab beetles described by Hope in 1837. They are members of the subfamily Cetoniinae. They mostly live in East and South Asia. The name is frequently misspelled as Rhomborrhina following an unjustified change by Hermann Burmeister in 1842.
The Trichiini are a tribe of the scarab beetle family (Scarabaeidae), though historically they were often classified as a subfamily, Trichiinae. In Europe, the conspicuous bee beetles (Trichius) are probably the best-known genus of the tribe.
Ischiopsopha are beetles from the subfamily Cetoniinae, tribe Schizorhinini. The genus was created by Raffaello Gestro in 1874. The type species of the genus is Cetonia bifasciata Quoy & Gaimard, 1824. These cetoniids have only the tip of the scutellum visible. The genus is widespread throughout the whole Australian region.
Pachnoda is a genus of beetles from the subfamily Cetoniinae with nearly all of the species living in Africa. The limit of the genus is given by the presence of internal lobes in their aedeagi.
Lomaptera are beetles from the subfamily Cetoniinae, tribe Schizorhinini. The genus was created by Gory & Percheron, in 1833. The type species of the genus is Cetonia papua Guérin-Méneville, 1830. These cetoniids have the tip of the scutellum invisible, which makes the difference with the genus Ischiopsopha.
Diplognatha is a genus of beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae.
Gnathocera is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae.
Euselates is a genus of beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae and tribe Taenioderini.
Plaesiorrhina is a genus of fruit and flower chafers belonging to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae, found in Africa.
Gymnetis is a genus of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae and subfamily Cetoniinae.
Eudicella is a genus of small to medium beetles in the subfamily Cetoniinae, belonging to the wider family Scarabaeidae. They are distributed throughout the Afrotropical realm, including South Africa, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Clinteria is a genus of scarab beetles in the subfamily Cetoniinae found in Asia. The genus is characterized by the scutellum fused with the pronotum.
Valgini is a small tribe of scarab beetles, formerly considered a subfamily, Valginae. Most species occur in the Old World. They tend to be compact, and scaly or spiny.
Chondrorrhina is a genus of fruit and flower chafers belonging to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae, found in Africa.
Polybaphes is a genus of fruit and flower chafers belonging to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae.
Cremastocheilini is a tribe of scarab beetles in the family Scarabaeidae. There are about 50 genera in the tribe Cremastocheilini.
Gymnetini is a tribe of fruit and flower chafers in the family Scarabaeidae. According to Catalogue of Life (2023), there are 32 genera in Gymnetini, mostly New World.
Cetoniini is a tribe of fruit and flower chafers in the family of beetles known as Scarabaeidae. There are over 80 genera in Cetoniini, found worldwide.
Pedinorrhina is a genus of fruit and flower chafers belonging to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae, found in Africa.