Family Scarabaeidae - Eudicella smithi (page 1)

Eudicella smithi
Range: central and western equatorial Africa
Size: 20 - 40 mm

Eudicella smithi is a medium-sized African cetoniine with orchre-colored elytra, and a jade-green, somewhat iridescent pronotum. The cepahalic horn of the male is of a red-brown hue, and like that of E. gralli, it is characteristically bifurcated at the end, forming a "Y".

Two male E. smithi. Like the closely related E. gralli, adults of this species can be kept in reasonable quantities in the same enclosure. The larvae can also be kept together in quantity, but they will grow into much larger beetles if kept at smaller densities.

Photo courtesy of Roman Kocina.

Eudicella smithi (males) - Image © Roman Kocina

Eudicella smithi (pair) - Image © Milan Polaczyk

A pair of E. smithi with lighter coloration than the examples shown in the previous photo. Coloration is highly variable in this species, as the elytra can vary from pale tan to deep ochre. Also, some specimens exhibit a deep violet pronotum rather than a dark green one.

Photo courtesy of Milan Polaczyk.

Two female E. gralli. Like other species of Eudicella, the sexes of this species do not display a particularly high degree of dimorphism. The females look essentially the same as the males, except that they lack horns. On average however, female Eudicellas are smaller than the males.

Eudicella smithi (females) - Image © C. Campbell

An assemblage of E. smithi feeding on a slice of banana. Fruit should be changed at least every two days in a captive enclosure, as it spoils quickly in the warm, humid atmosphere within the terrarium. E. smithi adults will accept other fruits such as apple, but banana is preferred.

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