Harlequin Flower Beetle, Flower Chafer

Description:

This is a clunky beetle, heavy, thick and highly variable in its markings of black and yellow. It's about ¾" long and 5/8" wide, with short antennae (see #2). I included photos of several individuals who visited ripe fruit over the course of a week or two, to show the variation in markings. This is a shy beetle, hides under the fruit if disturbed.

Habitat:

Flies around the moist rainforest, in the foothills of the Maya Mts., in western Belize, searching for ripe or rotting fruit.

Notes:

These guys are ponderous, noisy flyers, and land clumsily on the fruit.