Astylus atromaculatus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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 Pretoria on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 95th most-seen of the 274 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Maize Beetle in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in May to November, the lowest months. That is one of Pretoria's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain against almost none in July.
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.
5th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Spotted Maize Beetle sightings, Pretoria ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Rosario (Argentina, about 30%), Cordoba (Argentina, about 20%) and Mendoza (Argentina, about 20%).
Same order: Coleoptera
The closest relatives of the Spotted Maize Beetle that you can see in Pretoria (order Coleoptera, Beetles) are Asian Lady Beetle (about 30%), Lunate Lady Beetle (about 30%) and Derby's Flower Beetle (about 20%), 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 Pretoria (19 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.
