Male-clypeal-horn

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Cotinis nitida
green June beetle, June bug, June beetle, Common Green June Beetle
Cotinis nitida is a native North American scarab beetle in the flower chafer subfamily Cetoniinae. Adults are large, metallic green beetles active during daylight hours, often seen flying loudly in search of ripe or fermenting fruit. The species completes a one-year life cycle, with larvae feeding underground on decaying organic matter and occasionally damaging turfgrass roots through tunneling behavior. Though sometimes mistaken for the invasive Japanese beetle, this species is significantly larger and behaviorally distinct, and is generally considered a minor agricultural pest.
scarab-beetle flower-chafer sap-feeder fruit-pest turfgrass-pest white-grub diurnal metallic-green native-species aggregation-pheromone gut-microbiome fermentation-attraction back-crawling-larva one-year-life-cycle organic-matter-decomposer southeastern-US-endemic ethanol-trap-attraction male-clypeal-horn sexual-competition misidentification-risk Cetoniinae Gymnetini Cotinis Coleoptera Scarabaeidae