Hairy Little Scarab Beetle
Ellura
Red-corn Flower Beetle
Male, profile
 
                      
Red-corn Flower Beetle (Navigator ruficornis)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Beetles (Coleoptera)
Family: Scarab Beetle (Scarabaeidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Red-corn Flower Beetle (Navigator ruficornis)
This Photo:     🔍Male, dorsal🔎

Thank you Mark Hura & Christian H. Moeseneder for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~12mm long male.
Found head down, bum up in a Melaleuca lanceolata flower. Just saw a black bum hoping it was a Jewel Beetle, but got even luckier! These are VERY rare.
The prontoum & bum reflect green, but it wasn't as obvious under the studio lights. It depends on the angle of the light hitting it, and the flash forces that to be 90 deg. Ventrally between the middle & back legs is quite green too.
Etymology of the name:
a) ruficornis -> rufi = red + cornis = horn (antennae).
b) We asked Chris why "Navigator", he said "We named the genus Navigator because of the males "navigating" to the females, during their circling flight. It seemed to be all they were interested in and we only had evidence from very few found on fowers. So your observation is important."

Copyright © 2023-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 05-Mar-2023
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.