Cyclocephala melanocephala

Cyclocephala melanocephala · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Scarabaeidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Cyclocephala melanocephala
Photo: Gavin Skeen, CC BY

Cyclocephala melanocephala lives in North and Central America. Adult beetles feed on the flower heads of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus).

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults typically eat the inflorescences of the common sunflower.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Cyclocephala melanocephala photo 2
Photo: Bennett Grappone, CC BY
Cyclocephala melanocephala photo 3
Photo: Wendy McCrady, CC BY
Cyclocephala melanocephala photo 4
Photo: Matt Muir, CC BY
Cyclocephala melanocephala photo 5
Photo: Rosario Douglas, CC BY

Questions people ask

What does Cyclocephala melanocephala eat?

Adults feed on the flower heads of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus).

Source: Wikipedia

Where is Cyclocephala melanocephala found?

It occurs in North and Central America.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Scarabaeidae)

Japanese BeetleJapanese BeetlePopillia japonicaDamages trees, gardens or cropsCommon Green June BeetleCommon Green June BeetleCotinis nitidaDamages trees, gardens or cropsPhyllophaga crinitaPhyllophaga crinitaDamages trees, gardens or cropsEuropean Rose ChaferEuropean Rose ChaferCetonia aurataMediterranean Spotted ChaferMediterranean Spotted ChaferOxythyrea funestaDamages trees, gardens or cropsOriental BeetleOriental BeetleExomala orientalisDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclocephala_melanocephala

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.