Chrysina gloriosa is a species of scarab whose common names are glorious beetle and glorious scarab. It is found only in southern United States (southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas) and northern Mexico (Chihuahua and Sonora).[1][2] The adult beetles, which are active both day and night and primarily seen from June to August, eat juniper leaves and the larvae feed on decaying wood from Arizona sycamore.[1][3] A synonym formerly used for the species is Plusiotis gloriosa.[1]
| Chrysina gloriosa | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus: | Chrysina |
| Species: | C. gloriosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Chrysina gloriosa (LeConte, 1854)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Plusiotis gloriosa LeConte, 1854 | |
The adult beetles are 20 to 30 millimetres (0.8–1.2 in) long,[4][5] and are bright green with silver stripes on the elytra (red and purple color forms occur but are very rare).[1] These iridescent stripes on the cuticle of the elytra are a result of cholesteric liquid crystal organization of chitin molecules.[6] The differences in color are a result of the microscopic structure of each section, with green reflected from cusp-like structures and silver reflected from flat layers parallel to the surface of the elytra.[7] As established through Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry,[8][9] the optical properties change with the incidence angle of the propagating light. The polygonal cells in the green stripes generate self-healing Bessel beams.[10]
The species is sometimes incorrectly thought to have been officially recognized as endangered,[11] but it has never been rated by the IUCN or listed under the United States Endangered Species Act. It can be locally abundant.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Species Chrysina gloriosa — Glorious Scarab". Bug Guide. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
- ^ "Chrysina gloriosa (Leconte)". Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles. University of Nebraska-Lincoln State Museum - Division of Entomology. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ "Species Chrysina gloriosa". Bug Guide. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "Glorious Scarab Beetle (Chrysina gloriosa)". insectidentification.org. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ "Plusiotis (=Chrysina ) gloriosa". naturalworlds.org. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ Pace, A. (1972). "Cholesteric liquid crystal-like structure of the cuticle of Plusiotis gloriosa". Science. 176 (4035): 678–680. Bibcode:1972Sci...176..678P. doi:10.1126/science.176.4035.678. PMID 17778170. S2CID 22748746.
- ^ Agez, G.; Bayon, C.; Mitov, M. (2017). "Multiwavelength micromirrors in the cuticle of scarab beetle Chrysina gloriosa". Acta Biomaterialia. 48: 357–367. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2016.11.033. PMID 27856284.
- ^ Fernández del Río, Lía; Arwin, Hans; Järrendahl, Kenneth (2014). "Polarizing properties and structural characteristics of the cuticle of the scarab beetle Chrysina gloriosa". Thin Solid Films. 571: 410–415. Bibcode:2014TSF...571..410F. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2013.11.149.
- ^ Ŕıo, L. Fernández del; Arwin, Hans; Järrendahl, Kenneth (2014). "Polarization of light reflected from Chrysina gloriosa under various illuminations". Materials Today: Proceedings. 1: 172–176. doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2014.09.020.
- ^ Bouchal, P.; Kapitán, J.; Konecny, M; Zbončák, M.; Bouchal, Z. (2019-12-01). "Non-diffracting light in nature: Anomalously reflected self-healing Bessel beams from jewel scarabs". APL Photonics. 4 (12): 126102. Bibcode:2019APLP....4l6102B. doi:10.1063/1.5125045. ISSN 2378-0967.
- ^ Arnett, Ross H. Jr.; Richard L. Jacques, Jr. (1981). Simon & Schuster's Guide To Insects. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 108. ISBN 0-671-25014-0.