Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Cotinis nitida - Green June Beetle

Scarab Beetle? - Cotinis nitida Beetle - please ID - Cotinis nitida June beetle in September? - Cotinis nitida June beetle in September? - Cotinis nitida Green June Beetle - Cotinis nitida Green June Beetle - Cotinis nitida green june beetle - Cotinis nitida Cool Beetle - Cotinis nitida
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 Gymnetini
Genus Cotinis
Species nitida (Green June Beetle)
Other Common Names
Fig-eater
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Cotinis nitida (Linnaeus, 1764). Synonyms:
Cotinis nitidus (gender/spelling)
Explanation of Names
Species name nitida comes from Latin root nitid, shiny, handsome (1).
Size
15 to 27 mm long. (2)
Identification
Large, velvety green above. Sides of pronotum and elytra are yellowish-brown. Head and tibiae metallic green (3).

Color variations
Range
New York to Florida and Gulf states, north to Missouri (4)
Habitat
Varied: near woodlands, suburban habitats with lawns.
Season
summer; June-September (North Carolina/South Carolina)
Food
Adults: Pollen; ripening fruits, especially peaches; and the fruit and leaves of many shrubs.
Larvae: roots of many plants including: grasses, alfalfa, vegetables, tobacco, and ornamental plants.
Life Cycle
“Eggs are spherical, grayish colored. The eggs are laid in soil that has a high organic content. The larvae usually emerge after prolonged rain. The larvae crawl on their backs over soil or through sod, and overwinter deep in soil. The larvae develop in earthen cells near the soil surface and pupate in the late spring of the 2nd year after hatching. The adults emerge in June – July. There is one generation a year” (4). Largely diurnal, but also comes to lights (3).
Remarks
The adults can often be seen in numbers flying just inches over turf.
The larvae are pests because they destroy the roots of valuable plants.
See Also
Note how the scutellum is covered by a pronotal projection in Cotinis nitida (left), but is uncovered in Euphoria fulgida (right):
Print References
Borror, entry for nitid (1)
Brimley, p. 207 (5)
Dillon, pp. 551-552, fig. 424--shows pronotal process, plate 54, color plate B (3)
Harpootlian, p. 116, cover, fig. 230 (6)
Milne, p. 557-558, plate 208 (4)
White, pp. 147-148, plate 8 (7)
Internet References
University of Maryland - in depth accounts of life history, pest status, identification.