''Eupoecila australasiae'', commonly known as the fiddler beetle or rose chafer, is a colourful green- or yellow-and-black member of the

scarab beetle The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

family from eastern Australia. The fiddler beetle was originally described by Anglo Irish naturalist

Edward Donovan Edward Donovan (1768 – 1 February 1837) was an Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist. He did not travel, but collected, described and illustrated many species based on the collections of other naturalists. H ...

as ''Cetonia australasiae'' in his 1805 work ''An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of New Holland, New Zealand, New Guinea, Otaheite, and other Islands in the Indian, Southern, and Pacific Oceans''. It was reclassified in and became the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

of the new genus ''Eupoecila'' by German entomologist

Hermann Burmeister Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at the Uni ...

in 1842. Within the scarab family, it is a member of the subfamily Cetoniinae, commonly known as flower chafers. These beetles are strong flyers and can fly without moving the

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 ...

; they spend much of the time searching for nectar and plant exudates. Its common name is derived from its patterned body, reminiscent of a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

. The fiddler beetle measures in length, its body patterned dark brown and lime green to yellow. It is found in eastern Australia, in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and southeastern South Australia, and lives in heathland and eucalypt woodland, as well as suburban parks and gardens. Eggs are laid in rotting logs, or in debris or soil. The larvae eat rotting wood until they mature and pupate there by making a cocoon-like chamber within the wood. Adult beetles burrow through the soil and emerge in early summer, and feed on nectar-laden flowers. These include ''

Angophora hispida ''Angophora hispida'' grows as a mallee, or as a tree to about 7 m (25 ft) in height. ''A. hispidas small size, especially when compared to its '' Angophora'' and ''Eucalyptus'' relatives, leads to it being known by the common name dw ...

'' and '' A. woodsiana'', ''

Backhousia citriodora ''Backhousia citriodora'' (common names lemon myrtle, lemon scented myrtle, lemon scented ironwood) is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, genus ''Backhousia''. It is endemic to subtropical rainforests of central and south-eastern Queensl ...

'', and '' Melaleuca linariifolia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1945738 Cetoniinae Beetles of Australia Beetles described in 1805