Madagascar
Fine-art photographic collection
Diastatotropis irroratus
A Madagascan flower chafer dusted with a constellation of pale marks over dark armour.
About this species
Diastatotropis irroratusLacordaire, 1866
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Diastatotropis irroratus is an endemic Madagascan flower chafer with a broad, convex body and finely spotted surface. The mottling breaks across the shell like spray, matching the meaning of irroratus — sprinkled or bedewed.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Anthribidae · Diastatotropis
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
MadagascarBroad documented range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
What makes this species remarkable?
Hundreds of tiny pale marks scatter across the darker cuticle rather than forming a few large patches, producing unusually fine-grained camouflage.
The clubbed antenna opens into a fan only when needed, exposing a large chemical-sensing surface and then folding back into a protected compact shape.
Its robust scarab shell conceals thin flight wings that deploy rapidly, allowing a heavily armoured beetle to move between flowers, sap flows and fruit.