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Genus Osmoderma

Black cetonid - Osmoderma eremicola Osmoderma scabra Osmoderma scabra Some kind of Flower Chafer? - Osmoderma scabra beetle1 - Osmoderma scabra Osmoderma eremicola - Hermit Flower Beetle - Osmoderma eremicola Osmoderma subplanata? - Osmoderma subplanata Osmoderma (Scabra?) - Osmoderma scabra
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 Osmodermatini
Genus Osmoderma
Explanation of Names
Osmoderma LePeletier et Serville 1828
Greek osme 'smell' + derma 'skin'(1)
Numbers
3 spp. in our area, 9 total(2)(3)
Size
Circa 20-25 mm
Range
Holarctic(3); in our area, e. NA (O. scabra, O. eremicola, and the similar yet more western O. subplanata) -- all three reach Canada(4)
Habitat
Secluded habitats in hollow trees(5)
Food
Decaying centers of various hardwoods
Remarks
When handled, they emit a strong leather-like odor.(6)
These beetles are considered umbrella and indicator species for many other beetles that dwell in hollow trees.(5)
See Also
Print References
Howden, H.F. 1968. A review of the Trichiinae of North and Central America (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 54: 77 pp.
(7)(8)
Works Cited
1.Composition of scientific words
Brown R.W. 1956. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. 882 pp.
2.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.
3.Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles (by Brett Ratcliffe and Mary Liz Jameson)
4.Bousquet Y., ed. (1991) Checklist of the beetles of Canada and Alaska
5.Hidden Company that Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips
James B. Nardi. 2023. Princeton University Press.
6.Eastern Forest Insects
Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.
7.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
8.The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska
Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.