Encyclopaedia
Emerald Beetle (Chlorocala africana)
Chlorocala africana
The Chlorocala africana (Emerald Beetle or African Emerald Flower Beetle). It is a medium-small African cetonine (about 1 inch) renowned for its blinding shine and perfect metallic green color, which makes it look like a living jade jewel (with fascinating purplish or bluish reflections depending on the subspecies, like the 'oertzeni'). Like the Pachnoda, it is one of the easiest and most rewarding beetles to breed, very resistant, extremely diurnal and a lover of flight. Males and females are visually almost identical, lacking horns. They love to bask under hot lamps and crowd convulsively on fermented sugary fruits. The life cycle is lightning-fast (about 5-6 months from egg to emerald adult) and the placid larvae are satisfied with basic humus mixed with dry leaves, without necessarily requiring the expensive and complex Flake Soil of the giants.
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Terrestrial
60 - 80 %
20 - 28 °C
18 - 22 °C
None
Species description
Care, breeding and tankmates
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Origin
Terrestrial invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 2.8 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Venom level
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
Related species
Recommendations grouped by close relatives, companion choices, and similar care.
