Here are a couple pictures I took of specimens from my collection representing the four species in the genus Chrysina that are native to the US. The larvae develop in decaying wood and rich organic soil.
The species in clockwise order from the upper left are: Chrysina woodi (Horn), Chrysina lecontei (Horn), Chrysina gloriosa (LeConte), and Chrysina beyeri (Skinner). Chrysina woodi is found in Texas and New Mexico, the rest are found here in Arizona and the desert southwest.
So, do you like black or white better?
At first I liked black, but as I got to looking at them awhile, I like white better.
Very nice! I am working on similar groupings for my Field Guide to Arizona Beetles and I was also tempted to include the Texan species – just in case…and they are so pretty together. http://margarethebrummermannwatercolors.blogspot.com/p/bugs.html
They are really awesome! I would love to get to Guatamala or southern Mexico and pick up some of the other beautiful species, but these native US bugs are some of the best! It is possible C beyeri could show up here…
Very nice, Paul! But I know a lot less about beetles than I know about about birds (and I think I’ve forgotten almost everything I knew about birds!).