Hopliini

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Scarabaeiformia
Superfamilia: Scarabaeoidea

Familia: Scarabaeidae
Subfamilia: Melolonthinae
Tribus: Hopliini
Subtribus: Anisonychina, Heterochelina, Hopliina, Lepisiina, Madahopliina, Pachycnemina.
Name

Hopliini Burmeister, 1855
Authority for current placement: Bouchard, P. et al. 2011

References

Ahrens, D.; Scott, M.; Vogler, A.P. 2011: The phylogeny of monkey beetles based on mitochondrial and ribosomal RNA genes (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Hopliini). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 60(3): 408–415. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.04.011
Goldblatt, P.; Bernhardt, P.; Manning, J.C. 1998: Pollination of petaloid geophytes by monkey beetles (Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Hopliini) in southern Africa. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 85(2): 215–230. JSTOR
Goldblatt, P.; Manning, J.C. 2011: Hopliine beetles (Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Hopliini), specialized pollinators of the southern African flora. Curtis's botanical magazine, 28(4): 238–259. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8748.2011.01752.x
Johnson, S.D.; Midgley, J.J. 2001: Pollination by monkey beetles (Scarabaeidae: Hopliini): do color and dark centers of flowers influence alighting behavior? Environmental entomology, 30(5): 861–868. DOI: 10.1603/0046-225X-30.5.861
Mayer, C.; Soka, G.; Picker, M. 2006: The importance of monkey beetle (Scarabaeidae: Hopliini) pollination for Aizoaceae and Asteraceae in grazed and ungrazed areas at Paulshoek, Succulent Karoo, South Africa. Journal of insect conservation, 10(4): 323–333. DOI: 10.1007/s10841-006-9006-0
Bouchard, P., Bousquet, Y., Davies, A.E., Alonso-Zarazaga, M.A., Lawrence, J.F., Lyal, C.H.C., Newton, A.F., Reid, C.A.M., Schmitt, M., Ślipiński, S.A. & Smith, A.B.T. 2011. Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta). ZooKeys 88: 1–972. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.88.807 Open access. PMC: 3088472 Open access. Reference page.

Vernacular names

Monkey beetles are scarab beetles, a group of several genera within the tribe Hopliini. The placement of this tribe within the family Scarabaeidae is uncertain between Melolonthinae and Rutelinae.[1] Many species visit flowers for pollen and nectar, or browse on the petals. The beetles are important pollinators of Aizoaceae and Asteraceae in grazed and ungrazed areas, as well as many others.[2] They tend to favor flowers of white, yellow, pink, orange, and blue pigments. They also tend to favor flowers of symmetrical, abstract patterns [3][4] Due to their pollination patterns, many plants were able to develop special features that attracted monkey beetles, such as the Iridaceae which now have bright colors and symmetrical, unique patterns.
References

Ahrens, D.; Scott, M.; Vogler, A.P. 2011: The phylogeny of monkey beetles based on mitochondrial and ribosomal RNA genes (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Hopliini). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 60(3): 408-415. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.04.011
Mayer, C., Soka, G. & Picker, M. The importance of monkey beetle (Scarabaeidae: Hopliini) pollination for Aizoaceae and Asteraceae in grazed and ungrazed areas at Paulshoek, Succulent Karoo, South Africa. J Insect Conserv 10, 323–333 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-006-9006-0
Steven D. Johnson, Jeremy J. Midgley, Pollination by Monkey Beetles (Scarabaeidae: Hopliini): Do Color and Dark Centers of Flowers Influence Alighting Behavior?, Environmental Entomology, Volume 30, Issue 5, 1 October 2001, Pages 861868, https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-30.5.861
Shelley A Johnson, Susan W Nicolson, Pollen digestion by flower-feeding Scarabaeidae: protea beetles (Cetoniini) and monkey beetles (Hopliini), Journal of Insect Physiology, Volume 47, Issue 7, 2001, Pages 725-733, ISSN 0022-1910, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022 1910(00)00166-9.