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Eduard F. Niga Photography for the love of the small world
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Phaedimus rafaelii howdeni (Arnaud, 1987)

A Philippine flower chafer whose old species name survived in collections even after a modern revision revealed it to be an island form of another species.

About this species

Phaedimus rafaelii howdeniArnaud, 1987

Information reviewed15 July 2026

Phaedimus rafaelii howdeni is a Philippine flower chafer historically known as Phaedimus howdeni. Males and females differ dramatically in colour and body form, and the taxon is associated with Negros in the central Philippines.

Taxonomy

Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Scarabaeidae · Cetoniinae · Phaedimus

Accepted as Phaedimus rafaelii howdeni; Phaedimus howdeni is a synonym. · checked 2026-07-15
Size

Adults are about 18–24 mm long.

Distribution

Negros and neighbouring central Philippine islands

Habitat

Tropical forest and forest edge where adults visit fruit, sap and flowers.

Activity

Day-active adult flier.

Diet

Ripe fruit, sap and floral resources; larvae develop in decomposing organic material.

Social structure

Solitary.

What makes this species remarkable?
01

Males and females can look like different beetles: the sexes differ strongly in proportions and metallic pattern, an extreme visual split within a single genetic population.

02

A 2021 revision changed its status from the full species Phaedimus howdeni to the subspecies Phaedimus rafaelii howdeni, showing how museum anatomy can redraw an insect’s identity decades after naming.

03

The taxon appears on the Philippine government list of threatened fauna, so its spectacular colour is attached to an island population with no continental backup.

Sources and scientific references