Astylus atromaculatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Astylus atromaculatus is a species of beetle in the family Melyridae. It is variously known as the spotted maize beetle, or pollen beetle. It is indigenous to Argentina and neighbouring countries, but has been accidentally imported into the warmer regions of South Africa, where it has become invasive.
Adult Astylus atromaculatus are roughly oval in shape, slightly elongated, with parallel sides. They generally are slightly flat in shape, and like most Melyridae, tend to be soft and leathery in texture. They attain about 12 mm in bodily length by 5 mm wide. They are finely bristly with finely punctured elytra and upper surfaces. The body colour is generally black, but with pale hairs on the pronotum surrounding two large, eye-like dorsal black patches. However, the most conspicuous feature is the colour scheme of the elytra; they are yellow to orange with a black median stripe along their margins where the folded elytra meet. Two blotches on that median stripe form cross-marks, one about 2 mm from the anterior end of the line, and one about 1 mm from the posterior end. Each elytron has three much larger black blotches on its dorsolateral surface near its lateral margin... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Cordoba | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Mendoza | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Maize Beetle sighting in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 164th most-seen of the 198 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Maize Beetle in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Maize Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Spotted Maize Beetle sightings, Addo Elephant National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 30%).
Same order: Coleoptera
The closest relatives of the Spotted Maize Beetle that you can see in Addo Elephant National Park (order Coleoptera, Beetles) are Cape Flightless Dung Beetle (about 40%), Lunate Lady Beetle (about 10%) and Variegated Lady Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Maize Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Addo Elephant National Park (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
