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Pachnoda sinuata (Garden fruit chafer, Brown-and-yellow fruit chafer)
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda
> Insecta
(insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola >
Holometabola > Coleoptera
(beetles)
> Polyphaga > Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea >
Family: Scarabaeidae > Subfamily:
Cetoniinae > Tribe:
Cetoniini
This is a familiar garden pest. The
adults eat flowers and fruit and the larvae develop in compost, manure and among
plant roots. They are medium-sized, 24mm.
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Adult Pachnoda sinuata feeding on flowers.
[image H. Robertson, Iziko ©]. |
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Adult
females lay their eggs on decaying organic matter and compost heaps. The
larvae hatch and feed on the decaying vegetable matter. They grow and then pupate
inside hard soil
cocoons that they construct and the adult later emerges from this cocoon. Different sized larvae from a compost heap.
[image H. Robertson, Iziko ©]. |
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Pupa in soil cocoons from the bottom of a compost heap (left
hand cocoon cut open).
[image H. Robertson, Iziko ©]. |
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The markings on the rear of this beetle seem to have a
threatening sort of appearance that might help in warding off a predator that
sees the rear of this beetle poking out of a flower.
See
photograph by Francois Jordaan and associated comments.
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