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Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Goliathus goliatus
Coleoptera / Scarabaeidae
Goliathus goliatus is a large African flower chafer with a striped thorax and strongly variable wing-cover colour. Brown and predominantly white individuals can occur in the same population.
Read the species account
The Cameroon museum male has a cream thorax crossed by dark longitudinal stripes, reddish-brown wing covers and dark legs. A forked projection extends from its head. Its exposed flight wings are translucent brown. [5]
The species occurs in West and Central Africa. The Nigerian population studied from 1996 to 2021 occupied hilly evergreen forest in northern Cross River State, near the Cameroon border, at elevations of 500–1, 000 metres. [3]
Historical Cameroon observations found larvae in trunks of Albizia, Uapaca guineensis and Terminalia superba. [1]
Adults observed in Cameroon nibbled pollen on Vernonia conferta. [1]
The white scales contain hollow cylindrical structures that strongly reflect visible light. Optical measurements also found enhanced infrared emission from the scaled wing-cover surface. Together, these properties lowered the measured surface temperature under illumination. [4]
Linnaeus described the species as Scarabaeus goliatus in 1771. The original locality was the Gabon River opposite Prince’s Island. [1]
In the northern Cross River State survey, white individuals fell from 17.7% of observations in 1996–2004 to 6.4% in 2014–2021. Total observations also declined. The authors identified selective collecting as a probable contributor to this local trend. [3]
Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.
J. T. Wiebes; Zoologische Mededelingen 43(3), 19–40 (1968) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Jonathan R. Mawdsley; Journal of Natural History 47(21–22) (2013), DOI 10.1080/00222933.2012.763052 · Accessed 2026-10-11
Dendi, Ajong, Amori and Luiselli; Diversity 13(8), 388 (2021) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Xie, Yang, Liu, Cui, Zhou and Fan; Soft Matter 15, 4294–4300 (2019) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Insect Museum of West China; photograph Zhao Li, 2001 · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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