Trichiotinus texanus

Native prairie and open woodland habitats with abundant flowering vegetation. Collections have occurred in areas with post oak woodlands, sandstone glades, and mixed grassland-woodland ecotones. Associated with native wildflower assemblages including Coreopsis, Gaillardia, and Thelesperma.

Nearctic region: United States (Colorado, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas). Core range appears to be Texas and Oklahoma, with scattered records elsewhere in the south-central United States.

Adults have been collected in June and July, suggesting peak activity during early to mid-summer when host flowers are in bloom.

Adults feed on pollen and nectar of flowers. Documented flower hosts include Allium sp. (wild onion), Cirsium undulatum (wavyleaf thistle), and Torilis arvensis (erect hedge parsley).

• Allium sp. - adult feedingwild onion
• Cirsium undulatum - adult feedingwavyleaf thistle
• Torilis arvensis - adult feedingerect hedge parsley, introduced plant

Adults are diurnal and actively seek out flowers. They have been observed on multiple flower species within the same collecting area, suggesting opportunistic flower visitation rather than strict host fidelity.

Adults function as pollinators while feeding on floral resources. As a flower chafer, they contribute to pollen transfer among native and introduced flowering plants in prairie and woodland habitats.

• Trichiotinus affinisSimilar flower chafer morphology and flower-visiting behavior; T. texanus distinguished by geographic range and subtle structural differences
• Euphoria kerniiSympatric flower scarab with similar flower association; E. kernii shows multiple color forms and tends toward more abundant aggregations in Opuntia flowers

• flower chafer
• pollinator
• prairie insect
• summer active

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Erebidae | Beetles In The Bush | Page 2
• Calopterygidae | Beetles In The Bush