Eupoecila australasiae
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Eupoecila australasiae, commonly known as the fiddler beetle or rose chafer, is a colourful green- or yellow-and-black member of the scarab beetle family from eastern Australia. The fiddler beetle was originally described by Anglo Irish naturalist Edward Donovan as Cetonia australasiae in his 1805 work An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of New Holland, New Zealand, New Guinea, Otaheite, and other Islands in the Indian, Southern, and Pacific Oceans. It was reclassified in and became the type species of the new genus Eupoecila by German entomologist Hermann Burmeister in 1842. Within the scarab family, it is a member of the subfamily Cetoniinae, commonly known as flower chafers. These beetles are strong flyers and can fly without moving the elytra; they spend much of the time searching for nectar and plant exudates.
Its common name is derived from its patterned body, reminiscent of a violin. The fiddler beetle measures 15–20 millimetres (0.6–0.8 in) in length, its body patterned dark brown and lime green to yellow. It is found in eastern Australia, in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and southeastern South Australia, and lives in heathland and eucalypt woodland, as well as suburban parks and gardens.
Eggs are laid in rotting logs, or in debris or soil. The larvae eat rotting wood until they mature and pupate there by making a cocoon-like chamber within the wood. Adult beetles burrow through the soil and emerge in early summer, and feed on nectar-laden flowers. These include Angophora hispida and A. woodsiana, Backhousia citriodora, and Melaleuca linariifolia. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fiddler Beetle sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 110 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 119th most-seen of the 875 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Fiddler Beetle in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in March to November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fiddler 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.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Fiddler Beetle sightings, Melbourne ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Sydney (Australia, about 10%) and Brisbane (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the Fiddler Beetle that you can see in Melbourne (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Argentinian Scarab (about 20%), Cowboy Beetle (about 10%) and African Black Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fiddler Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Melbourne (110 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.
