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Narycius opalus - flower chafer
During a walk in the thick forest of western ghats, one of the shoot tip of a plant on the path caught my attention which made me take a second look. The shoot tip i thought was actually this flower chafer, a male Narycius opalus, a in the tribe Cetoniini in the familiy Scarabaeidae. The genus Narycius only consists of this single species which is endemic in the Western Ghats.
It guess it was mimicking the shoot tip. Shot in very low light conditions!
''Narycius opalus'' is a flower chafer beetle that is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is the sole species in the genus. The adult male has a prominent projection on the head, while the female has a much shorter horn. This structure is probably the result of sexual selection, as in similar beetles. The adult beetle is shiny iridescent rose ranging to green, with intermediates.
Dupont originally described the females as a separate species, named ''Narycius olivaceus'', and Westwood.. more
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