Africa Wild

Cape Protea Chafer Trichostetha capensis
Family Scarabaeidae. Subfamily Cetoniinae. Tribe Diplognathini

© Flutterby

Description
20 mm. Pronotum red in the middle and black on the edges with white white dots. Elytra cherry red with white dotys. Thick black sutural line.
Variable with 3 subspecies.

Distribution
Western Cape Sep.-Dec.

Biology
Trichostetha capensis feed on Protea, Mimetes cucullatus, Leucospermum cordifolium. Larvae feed on termite stores.

© ExFmem

© ExFmem
(Taken in Western Cape Province along the southern coast)

Tiger Fruit Chafer Atrichelaphinis (Atrichelaphinis) tigrina
Family Scarabaeidae. Subfamily Cetoniinae. Tribe Cetoniini


uMtamvuna Nature Reserve - South Coast KZN

Cetoniinae share a feature called a posthumeral elytral emargination. This is a change in the structure of the elytra - the hard, strong forewings that protect the more delicate hind wings when the hind wings are folded - which allows the hind wings to poke out and unfold without the elytra opening all the way. This adaptation enables these chafers to fly particularly fast.
Adult flower chafers feed on pollen, nectar, plant sap, and fruits.


Distribution
Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

Longhorn Beetle Crossotus stypticus aethiops
Family: Cerambycidae. Subfamily: Lamiinae. Tribe: Crossotini

© BluTuna

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Kruger National Park

Description
15 mm

Distribution
Widespread in South Africa.

Plum Dung Beetle Anachalcos convexus
Family: Scarabaeidae. Subfamily Scarabaeinae. Tribe: Canthonini

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Ngwenya Lodge, Crocodile River

Description
24 mm, globular, black with coppery sheen and finely punctured surface.
Middle coxae parallel and widely separated from each other; metasternum very wide between middle coxae. Body not compressed laterally; pronotal sides regularly curved; antenna nine-jointed.
Plum dung beetles do not display sexual dimorphism.

Distribution
All of tropical Africa, from Senegal and Eritrea to Cape Province.

Habitat
Subtropical forest and savanna. Prefers clay-loam soils.

Biology
Nocturnal. Adults feed on carrion as well as dung. This species is often seen feeding on dead insects. Both males and females form dung balls; pairs jointly roll balls of dung away from the source, burying them in shallow burrows. After an egg is laid in the first brood ball, several balls are introduced into the nest. Females, sometimes accompanied by males, care for their progeny until they emerge as adults.

Ground Longhorn Beetle Phantasis carinata
Family: Cerambycidae: Subfamily: Lamiinae

© mpostumus

© mpostumus
Kruger National Park

Description
One of our wingless ground living longhorns.
Size: 25 -30 mm long. 3 rows of tubercles (all of the same size) on the elytra. Antennae about as long as the body, 12-jointed.

Distribution
Mozambique, South Africa

Cross Leafbeetle Monolepta cruciata
Family Chrysomelidae. Subfamily Galerucinae. Tribe Luperini

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Leaf Beetles of the genus Monolepta a mostly shiny on head, pronotum and elytra. Antennae are thread-like and longer than head and pronotum together.

Harlequin Ladybird, Asian Ladybird Beetle Harmonia axyridis
Family: Coccinellidae

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Description
Harmonia axyridis is a "typical" coccinellid beetle in shape and structure, being domed and having a "smooth" transition between its elytra (wing coverings), pronotum, and head. The beetle is typically large for a coccinellid (5.5–8.5 mm long). They always have reddish-brown legs and are obviously brown on the underside of the abdomen, even in the melanic colour forms.
The colour and spotting pattern of the beetle shows considerable variation. The colour of harlequin ladybirds’ elytra (shield wings) may range from pumpkin yellow or orange to bright red, while the number of black spots may range from none to as many as 19. The most important characteristic that distinguishes harlequin ladybirds from indigenous species, is the large, yellowish-white "cheek patches" occurring on both sides on the pronotum. In some instances the pronotum is almost entirely white with small black spots, while in other instances the black patches look like the letter "W" with prominent white spots on both sides.

Larvae are elongate, somewhat flattened, and adorned with strong tubercles and spines. The mature larva (or fourth instar) is strikingly colored: the overall color is mostly black to dark bluish-gray, with a prominent bright yellow-orange patch on the sides of abdominal segments 1 to 5.

© BluTuna
Larva - Garden in Johannesburg

© BluTuna
Pupa - Garden in Johannesburg

© BluTuna
Pupa - Garden in Johannesburg

Geographical distribution
The harlequin ladybird originates from Central and East Asia. It was imported into Western Europe and the USA as a biological control agent for aphids. Harlequin ladybirds were identified in South Africa in 2002 and have since become prevalent throughout the country. Widespread across most regions of South Africa, including the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

Habitat
Gardens, grassland and agricultural crops.

Biology
It feeds mainly on aphids. When insufficient aphids are available, they eat just about any soft-bodied insects, bugs, psyllids, eggs of lacewings, eggs and larvae of moths and butterflies, immature stages of other beetles, including larvae of other predatory ladybirds, as well as pollen and damaged fruit. Cannibalism also occurs among harlequin ladybirds when other food is not available.
When threatened harlequin ladybirds secrete a yellowish fluid with a vile smell and taste to deter birds and other potential predators.

Life cycle
The life cycle of the harlequin ladybird involves an egg, larval, pupal and adult stage. Each female can produce around 1,000 to 2,000 or so eggs in its lifetime, usually laying them in batches of about 10 to 30 per day. The eggs are oval-shaped and are pale yellow when laid, later turning darker yellow before becoming grey-black just before hatching.
The time taken for the eggs and larvae to develop depends on a number of factors, including temperature and diet. In temperate regions, the eggs usually hatch after around four to five days and the larvae take about three weeks to develop, shedding their skins four times during this period. The pupal stage lasts about one week.
The larva of the harlequin ladybird is quite different in appearance to the adult, being grub-like, around two to ten millimetres in length, and covered in branched spines. Its body is largely black, but in older larvae each side of the body bears an orange, ‘L’ shaped mark, and there are four orange spines towards the rear.
Harlequin ladybird pupae are ‘exposed’, meaning that the entire larval skin is shed during pupation, rather than the ladybird pupating within it or only half shedding it. The cast-off larval skin remains attached to the rear of the pupa, at the point where the pupa attaches to a substrate while it develops.

Links: ARKive



Sabi Sands, Tydon safari Camp © GlosterBirder

Leaf Beetle Monolepta sp.
Family: Chrysomelidae. Subfamily: Galerucinae

© BluTuna

© BluTuna
Garden in Johannesburg

Leaf Beetles of the genus Monolepta are mostly shiny on head, pronotum and elytra. Antennae are thread-like and longer than head and pronotum together. There are several all-black species or species with red head.
Widely distributed in tropical Africa.

Links: SysTax: Monolepta sp.

Forkhorn Rhinoceros Beetle Cyphonistes vallatus
Family Scarabaeidae. Subfamily Dynastinae. Tribe Oryctini


Female © BluTuna


Female. Garden in Johannesburg © BluTuna


Dynastinae or rhinoceros beetles are among the largest of beetles, reaching more than 150 mm in length, but are completely harmless to humans because they cannot bite or sting. Some species have been known to lift up to 850 times their own weight. Their common names refer to the horns borne only by the males of most species in the group. Each has a horn on the head and another horn pointing forward from the center of the thorax. The horns are used in fighting other males during mating season, and for digging. The size of the horn is a good indicator of nutrition and physical health.
Rhinoceros beetle are able to fly, although not very efficiently, owing to the large size. Their best protection from predators is their size and stature. Additionally, since they are nocturnal, they avoid many of their predators during the day. When the sun is out, they hide under logs or in vegetation. If rhinoceros beetles are disturbed, some can release very loud, hissing squeaks.
These beetles' larval stages can be several years long. The larvae feed on rotten wood and the adults feed on nectar, plant sap and fruit. First, the larvae hatch from eggs and later develop into pupae before they reach adult status. The females lay 50 eggs on average. Contrary to what their size may imply, adult rhinoceros beetles do not eat large amounts, unlike their larvae, which eat a significant amount of rotting wood.

Ten spotted Ground Beetle Anthia decemguttata
Family: Carabidae. Subfamily: Anthiinae


Namaqualand, Northern Cape

Anthiinae (spotted ground beetles, tyrant ground beetles) rely on speed and agility for defense. Their most powerful defense mechanism is a chemical that is secreted in a pygidial gland in the area of the ninth abdominal segment. It is made up of concentrated organic acids or quinone and is squirted at an attacker in a strong jet.


Anthia decemguttata is 28mm long, a predator of other ground-dwelling insects. Found in sandy areas of karoo and fynbos in South Africa (Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape) and Namibia.

The general colour of this species is dull black. On each side of the thorax anteriorly there is a small white spot. The elytra are marked with a few deep grooves. Each elytron has five spots of white down.