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Australian Wildlife

  Fiddler Beetle (Eupoecila australasiae)





Fiddler Beetle | Eupoecila australasiae photo
Fiddler Beetleon a Cotoneaster shrub, Swifts Creek, Victoria

Image by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos - GNU Free Documentation License.    (view image details)







FIDDLER BEETLE FACTS

Identification
The Fiddler Beetle or Rose Chafer is a dark brown scarab beetle with distinctive green or yellow markings in a violin shape. The abdomen is banded black and yellow or green. They are strong fliers and move from tree to tree to feed on nectar. They are harmless to humans.

Other Names
Rose Chafer

Size
length 15mm to 18mm

Habitat
eucalypt woodland, heathland, suburban parks and gardens.

Food
feeds on nectar from eucalypt flowers and other flowering trees, also feeds on plant secretions

Breeding
The Fiddler Beetle lays eggs in rotting logs, or in the soil. The larvae fed on rotting wood and pupate within the wood. Adult beetles emerge in early summer.

Range
Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and south eastern South Australia



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Coleoptera
Family:Scarabaeidae
Genus:Eupoecila
Species:australasiae
Common Name:Fiddler Beetle