Heteronychus arator
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Heteronychus arator (hetero+onychus = 'variable claw', arator = 'ploughman') is a species of beetle in the subfamily Dynastinae (the rhinoceros beetles). It is commonly called African black beetle or black lawn beetle. It is native to Africa and it is an introduced species in Australia, Norfolk Island and the North Island of New Zealand.
It is a shiny black (or dark reddish brown) oval-shaped beetle 12-15 millimeters long. The head lacks a carina or tubercles, unlike some other scarabs. The clypeus is truncate with distinct lateral margins, and dentate with a denticle in the middle. Each mandible has 2-3 teeth on the outer edge and is visible when looking at the beetle from above. Each antenna is 10-segmented and ends in a 3-segmented club. On the underside of the head is a mentum with a rounded apex. Each eye is partially split by a glabrous (smooth) ocular canthus. The pronotum is smooth, convex and lacks punctures. The elytra have rows of shallow striae. The propygidium (dorsal plate of the second-last abdominal segment) has a pair of stridulatory bands. The hind legs have tibiae with truncate apices. All legs end in simple tarsal claws.
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Black Beetle sighting in Auckland on a given day, based on 99 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 70th most-seen of the 689 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Black Beetle in Auckland on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Black Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 cities where we can rate African Black Beetle sightings, Auckland has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Melbourne (Australia, about 10%) and Sydney (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the African Black Beetle that you can see in Auckland (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Phyllotocus macleayi (about 10%) and Mumu Chafer (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Black Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Auckland (99 verified sightings), 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.
