Beetle, Flamboyant Flower Eudicella gralli
Description
The Flamboyant flower beetle or striped love beetle as it is sometimes called is a brightly colored member of the scarab beetle family. Their shells seem to have a prismatic quality, refracting the ambient light to give the green of their carapace a rainbow tint. The adults reach a size to about one and half inches. The males have a “Y” shaped horn to fight over females. The females have a shovel-like tusk to burrow into wood. They were considered sacred by ancient Egyptians and used in jewelry.
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Range
Africa, Uganda
Habitat
Rainforests of Africa
Gestation
During this period they will dig into wood to lay eggs.
Litter
Unknown
Behavior
Because of their need for wood and flowers, the flamboyant flower beetle has an ecological role as a decomposer as it eats the items of the scrubland and further makes it into smaller substances. Also by feeding on fruit and pollen, it is often responsible for blower pollination.
Reproduction
The eggs are laid in wood troughs dug by the female and the larvae feed on dead wood and leaf litter.
Diet (Wild)
Rotting fruit, pollen, nectar, and tree sap