Punctate Flower Chafer Beetle
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© Bruce Hulbert
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Neorrhina
- Species
- punctatum
- Subfamily
- Cetoniinae
- Family
- Scarabaeidae
- Super Family
- Scarabaeoidea
- Suborder
- Polyphaga
- Order
- Coleoptera
- Class
- Insecta
- Subphylum
- Uniramia
- Phylum
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 1.4 cm - 1.8 cm
The flower chafers are usually attractively coloured beetles with striking enamelled or metallic patterns.
Habitat
Flower chafers live in urban areas, forests and woodlands.
Distribution
Flower chafers are found from central New South Wales to northern Queensland, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. About 10 species (in the family Scarabaeidae) occur in the Sydney region. The Punctate Flower Chafer is one of the most common.
Feeding and diet
Flower chafers feed on nectar and are often found among the petals of flowers, particularly Angophora and Eucalyptus blossoms.
Other behaviours and adaptations
Flower chafers are unusual beetles because they fly with their wing cases closed (most beetles lift their wing covers well clear of the body). The larvae of flower chafers are white and live in rotting wood or decaying vegetable matter.
