Fiddler Beetle

Fiddler Beetle

fiddler beetle

The Fiddler Beetle or Rose Chafer (Eupoecila australasiae) is a dark brown scarab beetle with distinctive green or yellow markings in a violin shape. The fiddler beetle measures 15–20 millimetres (0.6–0.8 in) in length. The abdomen is banded black and yellow or green.

They are strong fliers and move from tree to tree to feed on nectar. 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 flower.

It is found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and south eastern South Australia.