Chlorocala africana
| Chlorocala africana | ||||||||||||
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Chlorocala africana oertzeni |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chlorocala africana | ||||||||||||
| Drury , 1773 |
Chlorocala africana is a very variable, always brightly metallic colored beetle species from the subfamily of the rose beetles (Cetoniinae).
features
The adult beetles are about 20 millimeters long. Mostly metallic gold and green tones dominate. The males can be easily distinguished from the females by a longitudinal furrow on the underside of the abdomen .
Systematics and distribution
Often this species is still referred to as Smargdesthes africana , but since the genus Smargdesthes has since been withdrawn, this name is now only a synonym for Chlorocala . At times up to 16 subspecies were distinguished. The subspecies, long listed as Chlorocala africana smaragdina , is now considered the nominate form of the species Chlorocala smaragdina . In addition to this, the following two subspecies , which still belong to Chlorocala africana, are particularly well-known, as they are very popular as terrarium animals .
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Chlorocala africana africana (
Drury , 1773)
is native to Ghana to the Central African Republic . Usually the beetles are completely green in color. But they can also shimmer slightly bluish. Occasionally there are also reddish specimens (rufinos).
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Chlorocala africana oertzeni Kolbe , 1895
from Kenya and Tanzania, is the most striking subspecies. The beetles glow in a mixture of blue and purple depending on the angle of view.
The following subspecies are also listed:
- Chlorocala africana blanda ( Burmeister , 1847)
- Chlorocala africana camerunica ( Moser , 1910)
- Chlorocala africana insularis ( Schauer , 1941)
- Chlorocala africana mutica ( Harold , 1878)
- Chlorocala africana parcius ( Schauer , 1941)
- Chlorocala africana soror ( Schauer , 1941)
- Chlorocala africana subsuturalis ( Kraatz , 1891)
Behavior and reproduction
The diurnal, happy to fly beetles feed on sap and sweet parts of plants. Well-known food plants are acacias , long threads and the pods of cassias . The larvae also like to gnaw on rotten wood.
The larvae reach a length of about 35 millimeters. Male larvae have a clearly visible black point on the underside of the abdomen ( Herold's organ ). The cocoon is built from the surrounding substrate, with stones or branches from the surrounding area being partly built in. The generation period is four to six months, of which four to six weeks are spent on the pupae depending on the temperature . The adults themselves have a life expectancy of over half a year.
swell
- ↑ a b 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 dated May 30, 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. - African rose beetle website
- ↑ E. Holm & E. Marais: Fruit chafers of southern Africa (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniidae) . Pretoria 1992.
Web links
- www.flower-beetles.com - Chlorocala (Smaragdesthes) page