Figeater beetle
Scientific name: Cotinis mutabilis (Gory & Percheron, 1833)
Overview
The figeater beetle is a member of the scarab beetle family in the subfamily Cetoniinae, comprising a group of beetles commonly called flower chafers, since many of them feed on pollen, nectar, or petals. Its habitat covers primarily the southwestern United States and Mexico, extending south to northern South America. Within the figeater beetle's cuticle, twisted fibers are arranged in stacked layers. When light hits those layers, it bends and creates a distinct iridescent color. Figeater beetles are often mistaken for green June beetles and occasionally Japanese beetles, which occur in the Eastern US. C. mutabilis are also named by the synonym C. texana.
From the Wikipedia article “Figeater beetle”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Neotropical(Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico:Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidal.
Related animals
Sources
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Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: World Scarabaeidae Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Figeater beetle”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — No machine-readable author provided. Elf assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026