Green Fruit Beetle

Class: Hexapoda (animals with six legs - includes all insects)
Order: Coleoptera (beetles)
    coleo = sheath and ptera = wings (singular is pteron)
    This name refers to the hardened front wings of beetles.
Family: Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles)
Species: Cotinis nitida or Cotinis mutabilis
Common Name: Green June Beetle / Green Fruit Beetle
Date: 2001 August 11
Place: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
    on mesquite around Frijole Ranch parking lot

Depending on the reference, the name "Green June Beetle" is applied to both species. In California, C. mutabilis makes its adult appearance in the desert in June, but not until the beginning of August along the coast. In the Park, this beetle didn't appear until August. Both species like rotting fruit such as over-ripe peaches and figs hence the second common name (from Hogue "Insects of the Los Angeles Basin"). At Frijole, these beetles ate the fresh yellow flowers on mesquite.

Links

Note: This is a personal web site and is not affiliated with the National Park Service or Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Contact information for the author, Ron Lyons, is accessible through the Index Page referenced below. Thank you.