Belongs within: Cetoniinae.
From stumps to the sun
Published 13 May 2026
On warm summer days across the Palaearctic realm, flowers may be seen playing host to a wide range of insects. Among the most prominent visitors, of course, will be bees, with their hairy bodies and black-and-yellow coloration. But these same descriptors may be applied to another kind of flower visitor: the bee beetles of the genus Trichius.
Bee beetles are members of the Cetoniinae, a subfamily of the scarabaeids commonly known as the flower chafers. Cetoniines may be recognised by the presence of emarginations in the sides of the clypeus just in front of the eyes, exposing the antennal insertions in dorsal view. The Trichiini, the tribe of cetoniines including Trichius, are further distinguished by the lack of posthumeral emarginations on the elytra and closely placed posterior coxae (Ratcliffe et al. 2002). Trichius species are plump beetles with hairy sides and pronotum but relatively sparse, indistinct setae on the elytra, obtusely angular corners on the base of the pronotum, and relatively straight mid and hind tibiae (Huang & Chen 2016). The coloration of bee beetles is also characteristic, with broad yellow stripes across the elytra merging medially.
Trichius species are moderately sized beetles, about a centimetre or so in length. As their vernacular name indicates, adult cetoniines commonly feed on nectar; they may also indulge in other sugary food sources such as plant sap or fallen fruit. Larvae, on the other hand, are more secluded feeders, feeding on decaying wood such as the stumps of fallen trees.
Systematics of Trichius
<==Trichius Fabr. 1775B89
|--T. abdominalisB14
|--T. deltaLC40
|--T. donitziA13
|--T. duplicatusA13
|--T. eremitaR26 [=Cetonia eremitaL02]
|--T. fasciatus (Linnaeus 1758)B14 (see below for synonymy)
|--T. hemipterusR26
|--T. japonicusA13
|--T. lapeyrousei Dupont in Boisduval 1835B35
|--T. nobilis [=Cetonia (Trichius) nobilis]G20
|--T. orientalisB14
|--T. pigerLC40
|--T. septendecimguttatus [=Gnorimus septendecimguttatus]A13
|--T. sexualisB14
|--T. succinctusLC40
|--T. vittatusLC40
`--T. zonatus Germar 1812 [incl. T. fasciolatus Gené 1839, T. fortunatarum Blanch. 1842]B89
Trichius fasciatus (Linnaeus 1758)B14 [=Cetonia fasciataL02; incl. T. fasciatus var. bipunctatusC01, T. fasicatus var. lineatocollisC01, T. fasciatus var. scutellarisC01, T. fasciatus var. sibiricusC01]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[A13] Arrow, G. J. 1913. Notes on the lamellicorn Coleoptera of Japan and descriptions of a few new species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 8, 12: 394–408.
[B89] Bedel, L. 1889. Coléoptères du nord de l’Afrique. I. Cetoniini.—Glaphyrini. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 6e série 9: 85–100.
[B35] Boisduval, J. B. 1835. Voyage de Découvertes de l’Astrolabe. Exécuté par ordre du Roi, pendant les années 1826–1827–1828–1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d’Urville. Faune entomologique de l’océan Pacifique, avec l’illustration des insectes nouveaux recueillis pendant le voyage vol. 2. Coléoptères et autres ordres. J. Tastu: Paris.
[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature’s gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).
[C01] Csiki, E. 1901. Bogarak [Coleopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 75–120. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.
[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.
Huang, H., & C.-C. Chen. 2016. Motuotrichius yangi, a new genus and species from southeastern Tibet, China (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Trichiini). Zootaxa 4205 (4): 365–372.
[LC40] Laporte de Castelnau, F. 1840. Histoire Naturelle des Insectes Coléoptères vol. 2. P. Duménil: Paris.
[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.
Ratcliffe, B. C., M. L. Jameson & A. B. T. Smith. 2002. Scarabaeidae Latreille 1802. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr, M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley & J. H. Frank (eds) American Beetles vol. 2. Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea pp. 39–81. CRC Press.
[R26] Risso, A. 1826. Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l’Europe méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes maritimes vol. 5. F.-G. Levrault: Paris.