Cetoniinae is a group of scarab beetles with about 4.000 species. The group includes seventeen tribes (sensu Krikken 1984) when his Trichiinae and Valginae are considered as part of the group: Cryptodontini, Incaini, Osmodermini, Platygenini, Trichini, Microvalgini, Valgini, Cremastocheilini, Xiphoscelidini, Stenotarsiini, Schizorhinini, Goliathini, Cetoniini, Gymnetini, Diplognathini, Phaedimini, and Taenioderini. Many of the tribes are not well defined making it difficult (and subjective), in ocassions, to define membership.
Many Cetoniines are bright in coloration making them popular among collectors. Nevertheless, the group is poorly understood from an evolutionary point of view. There is a vast amount of taxonomical and nomenclatural problems almost at any hierarchical level. A vast amount of systematics research would be needed to solve these problems. So far, morphological characters of both adults and larvae seem to be only of limited use for reconstructing the phylogeny of the group. In addition, despite its notoriety and relatively abundance in collections, very few is known on the biology of the majority of the species.
Collecting Cetoniines. First the bad news: There is not a single method to collect all the species in the group. Adults, when they feed, are known to use a variety of sources from plants and animals as food. Beetles* frequently feed on floral offerings or ripe fruits but have also been found associated to, for example, fresh dung. Other species do not feed or live mostly underground by themselves or with colonies of social insects or rodents.
Fruit traps are a common method to collect cetoniines but because of the above it is rather limited**. Banana, plantains, pineapples, and mangos are commonly used attractants. Some collectors add sugar, beer, rum or vinegar to accelerate the fermentation process. The fruit can be hanged directly with a strip in a tree or can be put into a plastic container simulating an aerial pitfall. I use plantains as bait every time I can and check the trap at least every week. Adults of some species are only collected at a specific height, so trap height and location in the forest is very important.
* The vagueness will disappear once I get my article published.
**Also the reason why I avoid using the common terms “fruit chafer” and “flower chafer”.
AMERICAN CETONIINI
I'm reviewing all the species in the American continents. This is a taxonomic exceedingly difficult group of beetles. Within the about 70 species present in the Western hemisphere there is high amount of variation that is hard to classify in discrete taxa. The intraspecific variation is also big in some of the species making the character coding for the phylogenetic analysis frustrating. My goals on this project is to produce a monograph that will enable the identification of all species, and produce a classification that reflects the evolutionary lineages. Update: My revision is finished and submitted for publication.
Euphoria lesueuri (G. & P. 1833) This species is one of the most robust Cetoniini in the Americas competing in this regard with E. candezei. The pronotum is dull in the male and shinny in the female. There is variation in color in the species, ranging from different tonalities of green to almost black. The shape of the male genitalia is unique in the group. From Mexico.
AMERICAN GYMNETINI
Dr. Ratcliffe is doing a taxonomic revision of all the American species. I will be collaborating with the revision of some genera. I'm interested in 1) testing the generic and tribal concepts, 2) the position of Blaesiina, and 3) understanding the relationships with the African genera of the tribe.PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE CETONIINAE BASED ON MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR DATA
My work on Cetoniini and Gymnetini gave me some insights about the big mess that is the tribal classification in the subfamily. I'm working on a character analysis that will produce an entire new system based on synapomorphies. Some genera will be revised along the way.FAUNISTIC SURVEYS
I'm documenting the diversity of selected groups of scarabs from different regions. Most of my work involves cetonines but I have also worked and are interested on Scarabaeinae. Currently I'm working on the cetonines from Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, and South Africa. Eventually I will produce a guide to the American Cetoniinae.WEB PROJECTS
Colombian Entomology Listserv Hexos
Guide to the genera of New World pleurosticti scarab beetles. Cetoniinae page (under construction).
Tree of Life. Cetoniinae page
