South African fruit beetle
| South African fruit beetle | ||||||||||||
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Pachnoda sinuata flaviventris |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pachnoda sinuata | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1775) |
The South African fruit beetle or garden fruit beetle ( Pachnoda sinuata ) is a species of beetle from the subfamily of the rose beetles (Cetoniinae). The species is next to the Congo rose beetle ( Pachnoda marginata ) the best known representative of the genus Pachnoda .
features
The South African fruit beetle reaches a size of 20 to 25 millimeters. It stands out due to its high-contrast, yellow-black back coloration. Pronotum and elytra ( elytra ) are of dark green and black color. A wide yellow band runs around the entire outer edge, which is bulged in the rear third of the elytres from the respective edge towards the wing cover seam , but does not reach this and thus does not form a closed band. There are two small black blemishes in the yellow edge of the pronotum, and two larger black blemishes on the shoulders and at the end of the elytra. The rest of the body is lively yellow (especially the underside and the rails of the middle and rear legs) and red-brown (remaining leg links and head). On the edge of the head there are two characteristic yellow lines below the eyes. The sternites are separated from each other by dark borders. The spaces in between are yellow ventrally and sagittally red-brown with clearly separated white spots on the edge of the sternum. The last sternite is red-brown with white dots.
Like all rose beetles, this species is also able to fly with closed wing-coverts through corresponding indentations on the edge of the elytra.
Name and system
Pachnoda sinuata is called in German more and more often "South African fruit beetle" or "garden fruit beetle". As an English common name , "Garden fruit chafer" or "Yellow-bellied Beetle" is occasionally used, which means "garden fruit beetle" or "yellow-bellied beetle" and indicates that characteristic of the species that distinguishes these beetles from many other Pachnoda species.
The nominate form was described by Fabricius in 1775 under the name Cetonia sinuata . Various subspecies were added in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of which were described as species in their own right. Their assignment to Pachnoda sinuata is still controversial. The best-known subspecies Pachnoda sinuata calceata and Pachnoda sinuata flaviventris are often regarded as valid species under the names Pachnoda calceata and Pachnoda flaviventris, respectively .
The following subspecies are listed in the literature:
- Pachnoda sinuata sinuata ( Fabricius , 1775)
- Pachnoda sinuata calceata Harold , 1878
- Pachnoda sinuata flaviventris ( Gory & Percheron , 1833)
- Pachnoda sinuata nicolae Rigout , 1986
- Pachnoda sinuata machadoi Rigout , 1989
- Pachnoda sinuata puncticollis
Occurrence
The South African fruit beetle is common in several subspecies in South Africa and Namibia . For example, Pachnoda sinuata flaviventris is the most common rose beetle in South Africa. The somewhat smaller subspecies Pachnoda sinuata calceata lives in the drier western part of South Africa and Namibia. The distribution limit between the two subspecies runs through Windhoek in Namibia and the South African Cape Province .
Way of life
food
The adults not only eat the pollen from flowers, but often the entire flower. This makes them a problem, especially in fruit-growing areas. In addition, all types of fruit, including unripe ones, are eaten. P. sinuata calceata also eats acacia flowers and garden roses if there is a lack of fruit . The grubs feed on almost all usable organic constituents of the soil, such as roots, compost, dung and fruits that have fallen to the ground, which are gnawed from below. The beetles are considered to be cultural successors and because of their frequent occurrence as pests.
behavior
The South African fruit beetle can be found both on plants and in the soil. Its yellow and black markings are a signal that indicates that it is inedible. In the event of danger, the beetle supplements this optical signal with a chemical one, namely by excreting its foul-smelling excrement.
Reproduction
The reproductive phenology is tied to an annual rhythm. The main flight time and thus the mating season is between October and April. The females digging in the ground lay the round, 2.5 millimeter eggs in layers of soil near the surface. The grubs that hatch from it have grown to a length of about four centimeters after three to four months and begin to build a 2.5 to 3 centimeter long and 1.7 to 2 centimeter wide, egg-shaped cocoon from soil and a body's own secretion which they pupate . After a month of rest of the pupae, the adult beetle breaks free from the cocoon.
Terrarium keeping
Two subspecies can currently be found in the terrariums of lovers. Pachnoda sinuata flaviventris with black back coloring, in which yellow spots can often be found, and Pachnoda sinuata calceata , a somewhat smaller subspecies that never has yellow spots on the dark green back. Both are easy to care for and breed. All that is needed is a layer of forest or garden soil five or ten centimeters high. This should always be damp, but never wet. In addition, your white rot oak , beech , maple or linden wood should be added. The rest of the setup of the terrarium is left to the owner's taste. Room temperature is sufficient for the animals. It is fed with ripe fruit, for example bananas cut lengthways or crossways (with peel) that are placed on the ground so that the grubs can eat from underneath.
swell
- ↑ a b c d Arndt Löwenberg: Exotic beetles, care and breeding of rose and giant beetles in the terrarium , bede, Ruhmannsfelden 1999. ISBN 3-933646-44-8
- ↑ www.hier-krabbelts.de ( Memento of the original from June 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Catalog of African rose beetles
