Jul 19
Feeding frenzy.
Figeater beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) devouring ripening prickly pears, at the Sierra Vista Community Garden, Sierra Vista, Arizona. Figeaters are a western species, and slightly larger and more shiny and green than the summer Junebugs I grew up with in the southern U.S. (C. nitida). I can't recall ever seeing Junebugs massed together in such numbers.
Etymology note: Cotinis is a transliteration of an Ancient Greek word meaning wild olive tree, used for the beetle's resemblance in size and color to an olive.
