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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » May Beetles and Junebugs (Melolonthinae) » Hopliini » Monkey Beetles (Hoplia)

Genus Hoplia - Monkey Beetles

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Works Cited

Cream-stubbled scarab - Hoplia trifasciata

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

Superfamily Scarabaeoidea

Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)

Subfamily Melolonthinae (May Beetles and Junebugs)

Tribe Hopliini

Genus Hoplia (Monkey Beetles)

Explanation of Names

Hoplia Illiger 1803

from Greek hoplon 'armor'(1)

Numbers

The largest genus of the tribe, with 12 spp. in our area, another 12 in Mexico, 37 in the New World(2), and ~300 total(3)

Size

7‒12 mm

Identification

Medium-sized, mostly diurnal, flower-loving scarabs. Three-segmented antennal club. Mesotarsal claws distinctive(4)

key to nearctic species(5)

the New World species form three distinct and nearly disjunct groups: (i) western nearctic (5 spp.), (ii) eastern nearctic (7 spp.), and (iii) the neotropical species; the eastern spp. are relatively easy to identify, whereas the western ones are extremely variable and difficult(5)

Range

Eurasia, Africa, and the New World; in our area, 5 spp. are western, 3 are restricted to se.US, and 4 are more widely eastern(5)

Food

Adults feed on flowers and foliage, often in groups; larvae feed on roots of various plants;

some, especially H. callipyge, are considered pests of ornamentals and grapevines.

Life Cycle

larva hibernate in a late instar, pupate in soil in spring; adults emerge in spring(6)

Remarks

still missing in guide:

H. equina LeConte, 188O [eastern]

H. floridana Fisher, 1918 [FL]

H. gilleti Hardy, 1977 [eastern, = mucorea auct.]

H. hirta LeConte, 188O [AZ]

Works Cited

1.	Composition of scientific words Brown R.W. 1956. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. 882 pp.

2.	Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles (by Brett Ratcliffe and Mary Liz Jameson)

3.	Catalogue of Life

4.	A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.

5.	A revision of the Hoplia of the Nearctic Realm (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Hardy A.R. 1977. Occasional Papers in Entomology 23: 48 pp.

6.	The Common Insects of North America Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp. 1972. Harper & Row.

Contributed by Cotinis on 10 April, 2004 - 9:57pm
Additional contributions by Phillip Harpootlian, Boris Bueche, Aaron Schusteff, v belov
Last updated 29 September, 2024 - 4:39pm

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