Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Cotinis

Green June Beetle, Cotinis nitida - Cotinis nitida shiny beetle - Cotinis nitida Green June Beetle (Cotinis nitida)? - Cotinis nitida Cotinis nitida Arizona Beetle  - Cotinis mutabilis Cotinis mutabilis (Gory & Percheron) - Cotinis mutabilis Cotinis nitida Green June Beetle (Cotinis nitida) - Cotinis nitida
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 Cetoniinae (Fruit and Flower Chafers)
Tribe Gymnetini
Genus Cotinis
Other Common Names
Green June Beetles
Pronunciation
koe-TIE-nus
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
commonly misspelled Cotinus, which is a plant genus (smoketree)
Explanation of Names
Cotinis Burmeister 1842
Greek cotin, wild olive or oleaster (Elaeagnus)
Numbers
5 spp. in our area, 27 total(1)
Size
14-34 mm(2)
Identification
Usually velvety green with brownish highlights and some areas of metallic green, sometimes jet black. Clypeus with horn-like process at apical margin. Scutellum not visible (covered by the base of pronotum)(3)
Range
New World, most diverse in Mexico; in our area:
C. nitida widespread in the east to c. TX
C. mutabilis CA to c. TX
C. boylei c. to s. TX
C. impia AZ-NM
C. aliena Florida Keys (very local, may be adventive)
See Also
in Euphoria, scutellum is not covered by base of the pronotum; compare:
Print References
Deloya A.C., Ratcliffe B.C. (1988) A synopsis of the genus Cotinis in Mexico with description of three new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae). Acta Zoologica Mexicana 28: 1-52.
Works Cited
1.The genus Cotinis Burmeister in the eastern United States, with description of a new species from the Florida Keys...
Robert Woodruff. 2008. Insecta Mundi 0051: 1-13.
2.A Revision of the Genus Cotinis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Goodrich, M.A. 1966. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 59: 550-568.
3.A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America
Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.