''Dicronorhina derbyana'', or Derby's flower beetle, is a

sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...

species of

flower chafer Flower chafers are a group of scarab beetles, comprising the subfamily Cetoniinae. Many species are diurnal and visit flowers for pollen and nectar, or to browse on the petals. Some species also feed on fruit. The group is also called fruit an ...

Description

''Dicronorhina derbyana'' is the smallest within the genus. It reaches about of length in the males, while the females are slightly smaller, reaching about in length. In ''Dicronorhina derbyana layardi'' the basic body colour is usually metallic green with an ochre sheen and white stripes on the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ea ...

and

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

. In ''D. d. conradsi'' the body is maroon with a blue sheen and

tan Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

stripes. It is completely metallic ginger to emerald green in ''Dicronorhina derbyana oberthueri''.Terrarium
/ref> The males have a "T"-shaped, flat horn in the forehead. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e live in the soil on decaying vegetable material, while the adults feed primarily on tree sap and fruits. A female lays up to 200 eggs. The full life cycle will take 8–9 months, and the adult beetles can live 3–4 months.

Distribution

These attractive beetles are mainly present in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Subspecies

* ''Dicronorhina derbyana carnifex'' Harold, 1878 * ''Dicronorhina derbyana conradsi'' (Kolbe, 1909) * ''Dicronorhina derbyana derbyana'' Westwood, 1843 * ''Dicronorhina derbyana layardi'' (Péringuey, 1892) * ''Dicronorhina derbyana lettowvorbecki'' Kriesche, 1920 * ''Dicronorhina derbyana oberthueri'' Deyrolle, 1876 Biolib
/ref>

Gallery

File:Scarabaeidae - Dicronorrhina derbyana.JPG, Mating ''D. d. layardi'' at the

Montreal Insectarium The Montreal Insectarium (french: link=no, Insectarium de Montréal) is a natural history museum located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring a large quantity of insects from all around the world. It is the largest insect museum in North America ...

File:Dicronorrhina derbyana layardi or.jpg, File:Dicronorhina derbyana layardi.jpg, File:Dicranorrhina derbyana derbyana.jpg, File:Dicronorrhina derbyana, manlik.jpg, File:Dicronorrhina oberthuri male.jpg, ''D. d. oberthuri'' male from Muheza, Tanzania File:Dicronorrhina oberthuri femelle.jpg, ''D. d. oberthuri'' female from Muheza, Tanzania

References

External links

* *
Photos of ''D. d. conradsi''

Cetoniinae Beetles described in 1843 {{Cetoniinae-stub