Diagnostic characters of immature stages of flower chafer beetle, Chiloloba acuta (Wiedemann) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae): Taxonomic importance

The flower chafer beetle, Chiloloba acuta (Wiedemann) (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), a pest of cereals and millets is widely distributed in India. The adults are defoliators while larvae are non-pestiferous. The morphological description of immature stages viz., egg, larva and pupa of C. acuta was carried out at Insect Systmatics laboratory, Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India during 2012–13. Eggs were elliptical and creamish in colour with L/W ratio of 1.31. The Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed no visible chorionic ultrastructures but showed distinct aeropyles. The larva was dull white in colour exhibiting ‘U’ shaped palidia in raster portion with reduced legs. The mandibles, legs and raster of larvae showed distinct characters of species identity. The pupation took place in tough earthen cocoon with larval skin intact. The potential of immature stage characters as taxonomic keys is discussed.