Diphucephala colaspidoides

Diphucephala colaspidoides

Diphucephala colaspidoides is a small, highly metallic, blue-green scarab beetle found in south-eastern Australia. It is occasionally very prolific and in Spring or early Summer can swarm to cover flowering bushes in vast numbers.
Diphucephala colaspidoides Iridescent green scarab beetles (10mm) swarming on prickly tea-tree ( Leptospermum continentale) Diphucephala colaspidoides

Appearance

About 8mm long body with short elytra; underneath has dense white setae highlighting sternites, elytra is heavily pitted and highly metallic and may be blue, turquoise, green, yellow,
Green flower scarabs (Diphucephala colaspidoides ) The warmth of the day, and the dense flushes of and endemic leptospermum flowers, drew out huge numbers of these very metallic blue-green beetles. Each was about 12mm long. The underside is creamy pale and heavily ribbed. The legs often take on other colours also including dark blue to red. Overall they produced quite a spectacle and sometimes weigh the shrubs down to almost breaking point. Many other species of beetles were competing for these flowers but when these ones got to a certain highg density the others left for a quieter bush of their own. See a single beetle here... http://www.jungledragon.com/image/37102/green_flower_scarab_diphucephala_colaspidoides.html Australia,Diphucephala colaspidoides,Geotagged,Leptospermum,Pollenator,Scarab,Scarabaeidae,Spring

Naming

Synonyms:
Melolontha colaspidoides Gyllenhal, 1817
Melolontha colaspidoides Schönherr, 1817
Diphucephala splendens Macleay, 1826
Diphucephala lineatocollis Boisduval, 1835

Common name:
Green Scarab Beetle
Diphucephala colaspidoides Diphucephala colaspidoides

Distribution

Australia; southern Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia
Green flower scarab (Diphucephala colaspidoides) For a short time in Spring these can appear in vast numbers to make the most of Leptospermum flowers. http://www.jungledragon.com/image/36996/green_flower_scarabs_diphucephala_colaspidoides_.html These scarabs are about 12mm long. The underside is creamy pale and heavily ribbed. The legs often take on other colours also including dark blue to red. Australia,Diphucephala colaspidoides,Geotagged,Spring

Status

Seasonally common

Food

Leaves and flowers of Leptospermum and Kunzea

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Green+Scarab+Beetle#
http://www.tfic.net.au/SpeciesPages/Diphucephala%20colaspidoides.html
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderColeoptera
FamilyMelolonthidae
GenusDiphucephala
SpeciesDiphucephala colaspidoides
Photographed in
Australia