Protaetia fusca, known commonly as the Mottled Flower Scarab or the Mango Flower Beetle are found across northern Australia. They are often attracted to night lights, such as your patio and verandah lights.
They have a wide distribution across North America, Caribbean, Indian Ocean (Muritius and Chagos Archipelago), Asia and Oceania.
These beetles are found on a range of plants including avocado, peach, mango, citrus, bean tree (Cassia brewsteeri) maize, mango, and Eucalyptus (such as the Red-capped Gum, Eucalyptus erythrocorys). They are known to feed on damaged or fallen fruit.
Following images are of the Protaetia fusca mating on the flowers of the Eucalyptus erythrocorys (Red-capped Gum).
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Coleoptera
- Suborder: Polyphaga
- Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea
- Family: Scarabaeidae
- Subfamily: Cetoniinae
- Tribe: Cetoniini
- Genus: Protaetia
- Species: Protaetia fusca
Footnote & References
- Mango Flower Beetle – Protaetia fusca, Brisbane Insects and Spiders, https://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_scarabs/MangoFlowerBeetle.htm
- Protaetia fusca (Herbst, 1790), Mottled Flower Scarab, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:4576ab2e-b79f-4f8e-9226-dd0d9fca2a00#overview
- Mango Flower Beetle (Protaetia fusca), iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/349603-Protaetia-fusca
- Mango Flower Beetle, Insects and Organic Gardening, https://insectsandorganicgardening.com.au/all_insects/mango-flower-beetle/