A flower chafer whose adult and larval lives use very different resources. Adults visit fruit and flowers, while the grubs develop within rich, decomposing organic material.
Species profile · Current colony
Pachnoda marginata
Sun beetle
Pachnoda marginata represents the beetles in the current collection. The profile photograph shows several individuals using the same branching structure.
Scientific namePachnoda marginata
FamilyScarabaeidae
Native rangeAfrica
TaxonomyAccepted species
SexMixed colony
In the wild
Natural history.
The patterned wing covers are the obvious feature, but the complete life cycle—from buried grub to active adult—makes a colony especially useful for observation.
This mixed colony is tracked as a group. Adult feeding, substrate condition, larvae, pupation, and emerging beetles can all become part of the public record.
Taxonomy and range
Pachnoda marginata is a scarab beetle in the family Scarabaeidae, commonly called a sun beetle or marginated Congo chafer. GBIF’s backbone taxonomy retains the species under Pachnoda and records the original Drury authorship.
What the record can show
The collection is represented as a colony because the images and future observations concern several beetles and their shared enclosure. Subspecies-level labels are intentionally omitted until the colony’s identification can be documented more precisely.
Conservation context
Status, trade & uncertainty.
IUCN evaluates extinction risk; CITES regulates international trade. They answer different questions, and missing data should remain visible.
Not Evaluated
No species-level assessment was located in IUCN Red List version 2026-1.
Not CITES-listed
The species was not found in the CITES Appendices checked in September 2026.
What the evidence supports
A broad species label, subspecies uncertainty, and sparse locality information limit what this colony can say about any particular wild population.
Make provenance visible
Preserve seller and origin records, avoid attaching unsupported subspecies or locality names, and never release captive beetles or their substrate.
Reviewed 14 September 2026 against IUCN Red List version 2026-1 and the live CITES Checklist. “Not Evaluated” is not a low-risk category. National and local rules may be stricter.
Life in the collection
A living colony.
This Pachnoda marginata colony represents beetles in the current collection. Its group photography and Codex history can document feeding and colony development while the profile expands into life cycle and natural-history research.
From Instagram
Posts & reels.
From the channel
Related viewing.
Introvertebrates on YouTube
The beautiful lives of sun beetles
A longer look at the sun beetles’ life cycle, behaviour, and enclosure.
Personal observations
From the Codex.
Introvertebrates Codex
Current colony · care history
Time in care, feeding records, moults and measurements. These are observations from the Introvertebrates collection, not species-wide averages.
Collection records are not available here yet.
Private notes and identifying details are kept off the website.
Continue exploring
Related profiles.
Read further
Sources.
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Pachnoda marginataView the source.