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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 2007 gathering in Minnesota

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles (Scarabaeoidea) » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Shining Leaf Chafers (Rutelinae) » Rutelini » Cotalpa » Goldsmith Beetle (Cotalpa lanigera)

Species Cotalpa lanigera - Goldsmith Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Shimmering White and Gold Beetle - Cotalpa lanigera

Unknown -Possible scarab? - Cotalpa lanigera

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 Rutelinae (Shining Leaf Chafers)

Tribe Rutelini

Genus Cotalpa

Species lanigera (Goldsmith Beetle)

A large yellow/green scarab with no elytral markings. Elytra has irregular rows of punctures.

Range

Eastern, central, southwestern United States (?), also southeastern Canada.

Habitat

Deciduous forests and woodlands, adjacent fields

Season

Spring-summer (April-July)

Food

Adults feed on willow, poplar foliage.

Life Cycle

Female scatters eggs on soil near a tree. Larvae burrow to reach their food source, rotting logs and roots. They pupate at the end of one or two years in earthen cells.

Remarks

Tribe Rutelini. This was supposedly Poe's Gold-bug, according to the account at Clemson.

This beetle is usually listed as uncommon.

See Also

Pelidnota punctata - Grapevine Beetle

Print References

Arnett, p. 175, fig. 429b (1)

Harpootlian, p. 104, fig. 200 (2)

Milne, p. 557, fig. 234 (3)

Internet References

Clemson University--species account

Insects of Cedar Creek

Animal Diversity Web

Works Cited

1.	How to Know the Beetles By Ross H. Arnett, N. M. Downie, H. E. Jaques

2.	Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina By Phillip J. Harpootlian

3.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders By Lorus and Margery Milne

Contributed by Cotinis on 18 June, 2004 - 11:16am
Last updated 12 June, 2007 - 4:29pm

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