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BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
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Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

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Species Trigonopeltastes delta - Delta Flower Scarab

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 Trichiini
Genus Trigonopeltastes
Species delta (Delta Flower Scarab)
Other Common Names
"D Beetle", Flower Scarab
Explanation of Names
Species name "delta" refers to the triangular pattern on the pronotum, which resembles the Greek letter, Delta, i.e., Δ.
Size
7-11 mm
Range
Southeastern United States: New Jersey south to Florida, west to Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas.
Habitat
Meadows with flowers.
Season
Summer. May-August (North and South Carolina)
Food
Adults take pollen and/or nectar. (Possibly eat vegetative parts as well?) Food plants include Goldenrod (Solidago), Feverfew (Parthenium), Coneflower (Echinacea), and Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccafolium).
Life Cycle
Mating occurs on flowers. Life cycle unknown? (At least it is not reported in popular works.) Larvae of related genus Trichiotinus live in decaying wood.
See Also
Trichiotinus, but delta pattern of Trigonopltastes delta is distinctive.
Print References
Arnett and Jacques, Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects, number 114 (2)
Deyrup and Kenney, Florida's Fabulous Insects, page 95 (3)
Harpootlian, p. 122, fig. 241 (4)
Salsbury, p. 185 (5)
Brimley, p. 208 (6)
Works Cited
1.Peterson Field Guides: Beetles
By Richard E. White
2.Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects
By Dr. Ross H. Arnett, Dr. Richard L. Jacques
3.Florida's Fabulous Insects
By Mark Deyrup, Brian Kenney, Thomas C. Emmel
4.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
By Phillip J. Harpootlian
5.Insects in Kansas
By Glenn A. Salsbury and Stephan C. White
6.Insects of North Carolina
By C.S. Brimley