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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Shining Leaf Chafers (Rutelinae) » Rutelini » Cotalpa » Goldsmith Beetle (Cotalpa lanigera)

Species Cotalpa lanigera - Goldsmith Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Works Cited
Goldsmith Beetle - Cotalpa lanigera Unknown -Possible scarab? - Cotalpa lanigera 9019689 Cotalpa lanigera - Cotalpa lanigera Yellow beetle - Cotalpa lanigera Goldsmith Beetle, dorsal - Cotalpa lanigera Goldsmith Beetle - Cotalpa lanigera Cotalpa lanigera Cotalpa lanigera
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 Rutelinae (Shining Leaf Chafers)
Tribe Rutelini
Genus Cotalpa
Species lanigera (Goldsmith Beetle)
Other Common Names
Gold Bug
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Cotalpa lanigera (Linnaeus)
Orig. Comb: Scarabaeus lanigerus Linnaeus, 1758
Numbers
6 spp. (1)
Size
20-26 mm (2)
Identification
A large yellow/green scarab with no elytral markings. Elytra has irregular rows of punctures. (2)
Range
e. US to SK, AZ, NV - Map (2)(3)(4), rare in the sw US
Habitat
Deciduous forests and woodlands, adjacent fields
Season
mostly Apr-June (BG data)
Food
Adults feed on foliage of oak, poplar, hickory, pear, maple, cottonwood, willow and sweetgum. (3)
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
Usually listed as uncommon. (2)(3)
Occasionally attracted to lights. (3)
This was supposedly Poe's Gold-bug (dead link), according to the account at Clemson (dead link). However Wikipedia notes, based on a biography of Poe, that the fictional gold bug was a combination of characters from two species:
Callichroma splendidum = Plinthocoelium suaveolens suaveolens (Bumelia Borer),
Alaus oculatus (Eyed Click Beetle)
See Also
Pelidnota punctata - Grapevine Beetle
Print References
Arnett, p. 175, fig. 429b (5)
Harpootlian, p. 104, fig. 200 (2)
Young R.M. (2002) A new Cotalpa Burmeister taken on post oak in eastern Texas with notes and a key to species in the genus (Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae). Coleopterists Bulletin 56(4): 473-479. (6)
Works Cited
1.American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
2.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
3.The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska
Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.
4.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
5.How to Know the Beetles
Ross H. Arnett, N. M. Downie, H. E. Jaques. 1980. Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
6.A new Cotalpa Burmeister taken on post oak in eastern Texas with notes and a key to spp. in the genus (Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae).
Young R.M. 2002. Coleopterists Bulletin 56(4): 473-479.
Contributed by Cotinis on 18 June, 2004 - 11:16am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn
Last updated 7 July, 2024 - 12:40pm

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