Jade-headed Buffalo Beetle
Eudicella smithi

This beautiful beetle is attracted to fermenting fruit and often feeds in groups. The male has a small forked horn used to push rivals away from food and mates. The female is a bit smaller and hornless. Eggs are laid in the ground and the white, soft-bodied grubs, or larvae, burrow and feed in rotten wood and other detritus.

Fact File

Ecological Role: Decomposer

Habitat: Coastal forest

Adult Lifespan: 5 to 6 mos

Adult Diet: Ripe fruit and tree sap