Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche, 1849) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) crossed the Darién? New record for Colombia and South America

Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Scarabaeinae
  • Claudia A. Medina-Uribe

    Center for Nature-Based Solutions, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt Villa de Leyva Boyacá, Colombi

    ORCID icon https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7714-9220
  • Arturo González-Alvarado

    Postdoctoral research, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva Boyacá, Colombia

    ORCID icon https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0343-3704
Keywords: Neotropics, invasive species

Abstract

Te African species Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche, 1849) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaei¬nae) was introduced to North America in 1974. It was frst introduced in Hawaii and subsequently spread to other locations in the United States, where it rapidly became established. From there, the species naturally colonized Central America and is now considered an invasive species. Here, we report the frst record of this species in South America. Specimens were collected in the Cesar Department of Colombia, manually from cattle dung. We discuss possible routes by which the species may have arrived. Finally, we provide photo¬graphs of the male, female, and male genitalia, along with a map showing collection records from Mexico to Colombia.

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Publication

1172

Published

2026-02-27

How to cite

Medina-Uribe CA, González-Alvarado A. 2026. Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche, 1849) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) crossed the Darién? New record for Colombia and South America. Insecta Mundi 1172: 1–6. https://doi.org/10.64338/im.1172.2o68t