Comments: A large and spectacularly colourful jewel beetle. Its streamlined spinose elytra are a rich yellow, while the pronotum is metallic emerald green adorned marginally with two blood-red patches. Ventrally it is metallic emerald green with splashes of pale yellow. The adults feed on the nectar of Angophora spp., Backhousea and even the introduced declared noxious weed Privet Bush, in or within sight of rainforest or rainforest-lined watercourses. It occurs in Papua New Guinea, northern Queensland, and from south-east Queensland to at least as far south as the Taree region of New South Wales. In December 1987, adults of what appeared to be this species were observed in the Ourimbah/Narrara area. They were attending high flowers in the rainforest. On a separate occassion another person saw a specimen that had settled on a yellow clothes peg, but which quickly flew off. Both sightings were in or near the unique area of remnant rainforest which occurs in the Ourimbah/Narrara area, about one and a half hour’s drive north of Sydney. If the occurrance of this species is confirmed in this area, it will represent the southernmost distribution record for the species and add considerably to the significance of this area of remnant rainforest.

The adults fly throughout the day but are reputedly most active in the morning from about 9.00 am to 11.00 am. They are highly seasonal, occuring locally in numbers in some seasons while in most seasons they are scarce or absent. In northern New South Wales they reportedly emerge more reliably than in the south of their range. The larval host has not been recorded. Not shown to be endangered.

The species ranges along the eastern coast and ranges from Mt Glorious near Brisbane in south-east Queensland to the Taree district in New South Wales. Adults have been collected from late December to early March, in rainforest areas but also possibly wherever its Ficus larval host plant occurs e.g. suburban plantings.

Tribe Clytini

Genus Chlorophorus

Comments: Occurs very commonly from the far south-east of Queensland and slightly less commonly in north-east New South Wales. I have recently found that this species occurs as far south as Kempsey, New South Wales (November 1997), where it was found on the flowers of Leptospermum polygalifolium Johnson. In northern NSW and in Qld it is more usually found on the freshest flowers of Angophora spp. and Eucalyptus spp.

Comments: Though not the largest it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Cetoniines in the world, as well as one of the most unsual, as its elytra are lined with deep furrows full of long hairs. It occurs from north Queensland to Victoria and South Australia. Specimens from the south of its range are small and invariably the hairs are white. Specimens from the Hunter Valley (north-west of Sydney) are of medium size and nearly always with white hairs, while the hair on those from northern New South Wales often show some of the orange-brown tint that specimens from north-east Queensland have, which hairs are entirely orange-brown. The name macleayi for the north-east Queensland form should perhaps be reduced to a variety or mere clinal form only, as it cannot meet the geographic isolation requirement to qualify as a valid subspecies.

Adults occur seasonally, and when emerged occur only on the freshest flowers, usually at height, typically Angophora spp. They will also be found on Eucalyptus and Leptospermum flowers, and doubtless many other host plant flowers. They will often fly rapidly and evasively back and forth and to and fro for a long time around a tall flowering tree before finally settling onto a flowerhead to feed. If disturbed they will instantly fall and buzz off at speed. Not shown to be endangered.

(This document is still incomplete, last updated 14th May 1998)