African Flower Beetle

These beasts are magnificent. They are great to watch as they dig about.

Their favourite food of all time is banana, this has to be refreshed every 2 days.  You can handle these guys but beware that they do have wings and can fly…sort of. To tell the truth their flying is rubbish but if they get a gust of wind then they could disappear off into the distance. They originate from Africa and eat fruit, nectar and flowers in the wild. They go through metamorphosis to become the adult beetle.

They start life as a grub, not very pretty but great in their own right.

These grubs have a good bite on them using their enlarged mouth parts called mandibles. As grubs they live underground eating mulch and debris. Once they get to a good size they build a cocoon around themselves using bits of soil. There they transform into the beetle we know and love.