Flower chafer
Subfamily of beetles From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Subfamily of beetles From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Flower chafer | |
|---|---|
| |
| Cetonia aurata, the green rose chafer | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Scarabaeiformia |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Subfamily: | Cetoniinae Leach, 1815 |
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
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