Chrysina gloriosa
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Chrysina gloriosa is a species of scarab whose common names are glorious beetle and glorious scarab. It is found only in southern United States (southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas) and northern Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora). The adult beetles, which are active both day and night and primarily seen from June to August, eat juniper leaves and the larvae feed on decaying wood from Arizona sycamore. Although adults feed mainly on juniper leaves, they also visit flowers and can act as incidental pollinators, transferring pollen as they move between blooms.
A synonym formerly used for the species is Plusiotis gloriosa. The adult beetles are 20 to 30 millimetres (0.8–1.2 in) long, and are bright green with silver stripes on the elytra (red and purple color forms occur but are very rare). These iridescent stripes on the cuticle of the elytra are a result of cholesteric liquid crystal organization of chitin molecules. The differences in color are a result of the microscopic structure of each section, with green reflected from cusp-like structures and silver reflected from flat layers parallel to the surface of the elytra. As established through Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry, the optical properties change with the incidence angle of the propagating light. The polygonal cells in the green stripes generate self-healing Bessel beams.
The species is sometimes incorrectly thought to have been officially recognized as endangered, but it has never been rated by the IUCN or listed under the United States Endangered Species Act. It can be locally abundant. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Glorious Jewel Scarab sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 300th most-seen of the 354 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Glorious Jewel Scarab in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October–June, the lowest months. Those are among Saguaro National Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against almost none in May.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Glorious Jewel Scarab sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Glorious Jewel Scarab sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the Glorious Jewel Scarab that you can see in Saguaro National Park (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Figeater Beetle (about 10%) and Lesser Triceratops Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Glorious Jewel Scarab is recorded against all the insects logged in Saguaro National Park (6 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.
