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Giant green fruit chafer

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Giant green fruit chafer
Photo: Espace pour la vie / André-Philippe Drapeau Picard
Giant green fruit chafer

Meet the giant green fruit chafer
in the Tête-à-tête room at the Insectarium

 

Native to the humid forests of Central and West Africa, the giant green fruit chafer is one of the largest in the world. Males can measure between 50 and 85 mm, and females between 45 and 60 mm. A single giant green fruit chafer can weigh up to 40 grams—the equivalent of a small chicken egg.

There is a wide range of colour variations among specimens, especially in the subspecies of this chafer. While they are often green, they can also be blue, red, brown, or even purple.

 


Scientific name : Mecynorhina torquata

French name : Cétoine géante verte

Order : Coleoptera

Family : Scarabaeidae

Egg incubation : 12 à 22 days

Lifespan : Up to 6 months

Diet : The larvae feed on dead wood and plant matter. Adults eat fruit, tree sap, and pollen.

Ecological role : The giant green fruit chafer acts as a decomposer, a pollinator, and a prey species.