Trigonopeltastes delta

Life-forms

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: Cetoniinae
Tribus: Trichiini
Subtribus: Trichiina
Genus: Trigonopeltastes
Species: Trigonopeltastes delta
Name

Trigonopeltastes delta (Forster, 1771)
References
Links

Schoolmeesters, P. 2017. Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae Database (version Jul 2016). In: Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds. 2017. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 30th January 2017. Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/col. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-8858. Reference page. [accessed on May 13, 2017]

Trigonopeltastes delta, the delta flower scarab or D beetle, is a diurnal species of scarab beetle native to the southeastern United States, though their range extends as far north as New Jersey.

Description
A large beetle on a flower
Adult on a coastalplain palafox flower.

Adults measure 8-10 millimeters in length, and can be identified by the yellow triangle on the pronotum, which resembles the defensive coloration of many wasps and has been theorized to act as Batesian mimicry.[1] They can be found from late spring through the summer on the flowers, including those of Queen Anne's lace and New Jersey tea.[2]
Etymology

The generic name is derived from Greek words meaning "triangular shield", with the specific name "delta" referring to the pattern on the dorsal side of the beetle's prothorax, which is reminiscent of the Greek letter delta.[3]
References

"Delta Flower Scarab - Trigonopeltastes delta".
Evans, Arthur V. (2014). Beetles of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4008-5182-9.
"Delta Flower Scarab - Trigonopeltastes delta (Förster)".