{{Short description|Species of beetle}} {{Speciesbox | image = | status = G1 | status_system = TNC | status_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |title=Polyphylla starkae |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.23.31067/Polyphylla_starkae |website=NatureServe Explorer |access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref> | genus = Polyphylla | species = starkae | authority = Skelley, 2009 }}
'''''Polyphylla starkae''''', commonly known as the '''Auburndale scrub scarab beetle''', is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae endemic to the U.S. state of Florida.
== Taxonomy == ''Polyphylla starkae'' is part of the ''pubescens'' species complex which includes ''P. pubescens'', ''P. donaldsoni'', and ''P. woodruffi'' all endemic to sand dunes in the Southeastern United States.<ref name="Skelley, 2009">{{cite journal |last1=Skelley |first1=Paul E. |title=A new species of Polyphylla Harris from peninsular Florida (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) with a key to species of the pubescens species group |journal=Insecta Mundi |date=24 July 2009 |issue=85 |pages=1–14 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267818275 |access-date=12 October 2024 |location=Gainesville, Florida |issn=1942-1354}}</ref> ''P. starkae'' is the largest member in the complex, and shows significant sexual dimorphism between the males and females.<ref name="Skelley, 2009" /> Females have a reddish-brown elytra and body, with the elytra connected at its base making them flightless. Males have a typically dark elytra patchily covered with light brown coloured setae, and are also capable of flight.<ref name="Skelley, 2009" /> Its binomial name is an honorific for Donna Stark, who collected the beetle.<ref name="Skelley, 2009" /> Its common name comes from the city of Auburndale, Florida which is located near to its range.
== Distribution == The Auburndale scrub scarab is endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge in Central Florida, where it is found in a very limited range, requiring very specific scrub habitat.<ref name="NatureServe" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Polyphylla Category:Beetles described in 2009 Category:Endemic fauna of Florida