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Genus Euphoria
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles)
Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)
Subfamily Cetoniinae (Fruit and Flower Chafers)
Tribe Cetoniini
Genus Euphoria
Other Common Names Bumblebee Flower Beetle, Brown Fruit Chafer (both for E. inda) Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Euphoria Burmeister, 1842
=Anatropis Casey, 1915
=Erirhipis Burmeister, 1842
=Erirhipidia Casey, 1915
=Euphorhipis Casey, 1915
=Euphoriaspis Casey, 1915
=Haplophoria Casey, 1915
=Isorhipina Casey, 1915
=Parisorhipis Casey, 1915
=Rhipiphoria Casey, 1915
= Stephanucha Burmeister, 1842 (1)Explanation of Names From Greek eu good, well; plus phor, phori(a) bear, movement (or perhaps phor, a kind of bee?) (2). Numbers Nearctica (3) lists 29 species.
Arnett, p. 422, lists 29 species. (4)
Those lists include some forms described by Casey, 1915, such as appalachia and scolopacea, that have been suppressed.
Checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of the Nearctic Realm lists 21 species. (5)Identification Medium-sized, rather wide and flattened diurnal scarabs. Rather hairy underneath and on sides, giving them a cute, almost teddy-bear appearance. Flight is buzzy, like a bee or fly. Elytra apparently do not open in flight, which perhaps contributes to the buzzy sound--see this illustration of E. fulgida. Seen on flowers or buzzing about forest floors and diving abruptly into leaf litter.
This genus seems to be rather unusual among beetles in that most species (at least the four eastern ones) can be told apart at a glance by their color patterns--see photos of, from left to right:
Euphoria fulgida, Euphoria herbacea, Euphoria inda, Euphoria sepulcralis (dorsal/ventral views):
Range Includes eastern and central North America. Widespread species in east are: inda, fulgida, herbacea, sepulcralis. E. clarki and kerni reach lower midwest (Oklahoma, Kansas). E. limbalis is a Florida endemic. Other species likely western. Habitat Fields, meadows, thickets Season Early Summer (April-July, North Carolina), some species into October (North Carolina) Food Adults visit flowers for pollen and/or nectar. Also take rotting ruit. Life Cycle Larvae usually reported to live in decaying wood, vegetation, dung. Eggs deposited in summer near these food sources. Larvae feed and overwinter, or perhaps pupae overwinter. Adults emerge in early summer. Males often seen searching for newly-emerged females.
Larvae are, perhaps, associated with ants? From Insects of Cedar Creek:
Larvae of these species are reported to live in decaying wood, but I suspect that some live as scavengers in ant nests (primarily those of Formica obscuripes). E. inda (yellow with black flecks) is commonly seen buzzing over Formica mounds in spring. On descending to the mound it is immediately covered by ants. E. fulgida (bright green) is much less common and is generally found at Prunus or Amelanchier blooms in the spring. Remarks Little has been published on the life history of the five previously recognized species of Stephanucha Burmeister. Skelley (1991) published the most thorough treatment to date for S. thoracica Casey (recently synonymized with S. areata (F.) by Harpootlian 2001). Skelley located larvae in the mounds of the pocket gopher, Geomys pinetus Rafnesque, in Florida and was the first to describe an immature stage for the genus. Published accounts of Stephanucha species biology are consistent with respect to spring emergence, presence in sandy habitats, and a potential lack of adult feeding or liquid feeding (Lago et ul. 1979; Skelley 1991). Skelley (1991) suggested that the main habitat of Stephanucha spp. might be pocket gopher mounds. He noted sympatric distributions of Stephanucha spp. with pocket gophers, including S. pilipennis. Kraatz found in the range of G. bursarius (Shaw). However, he noted that the larvae he observed were nonspecific in habitat requirements, also utilizing mounds in sandy soil created by other organisms or processes. (Paulsen 2002) Now considered a synonym of Euphoria(1). Print References Arnett, p. 422, fig. 24.75, E. inda (4)
Salsbury, p. 186-187, E. fulgida, kerni, sepulcralis (6)
Dillon, pp. 552-553, plate LIV, fulgida, herbacea, inda, sepulcralis (7)
Harpootlian, pp. 117-118 (8)
Hardy, A.R. 1988. Studies in the Euphoriina of the Americas (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). I. Introduction and generic concepts. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 42(1): 1-9.
Hardy, A.R. 2001. Studies in the Euphoriina of the Americans (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) II. Status of names in Euphoria, types and synonymies, with notes on the South American species. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 77 (3):127-143.
Paulsen, M.J. 2002. Obsertations on Possible Myrmecophily in Stephartucha pilipennis Kraatz (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) in Western Nebraska. The Coleopterists Bulletin 56(3): 451-452. Abstract
Skelley, P.E. 1991. Observations on the biology of Stephanucha thoracica Casey (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae). Coleopterists Bulletin 45: 176-188. Internet References Insects of Cedar Creek: family page, genus.
Insect Images--E. inda, shows larvae in dung
Cirrus Images--E. inda, looks like a male searching for newly-emerged females
Works Cited | 1. | The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska
By Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen | |
| 6. | Insects in Kansas
By Glenn A. Salsbury and Stephan C. White | |
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