How do I care for this beetle?

[Love to Foxtrot]

I recently found a striking beetle, so I collected it and plan on keeping it, but I do not know what to feed it. The beetle is exactly 1 inch long form the front of it's head to the tip of it's abdomen. At it's widest point across it's back right where the wing covers start, it is about 1/2 inch wide. It is shaped somewhat like an elongated pentagon, and it's colors are what made me keep it. It is a bold, metallic green with tan trim around the outside edges of it's wing covers and the edges of the front part of it's body. The underside is the same metallic green but it can look sort of tan in the right light. There is virtually no fuzz on the underside of the body. On the front of it's head, it has a very small rhinoceros horn-like structure that can be seen when the beetle is looked at from the side, and another horn-like structure that lays flat against the head pointing down toward the nose. Both structures are very small. There is also two long tan spots near the bottom edge of it's wing covers, one per cover. The beetle seems to be most active during the day. My question is, what kind of beetle is this , and what do I feed it? I offered some water and it drank everything that I offered. I put some banana slices in the tank today, and it is currently sitting on the slices, but I can not tell if it is eating them. It at least looks interested in them. I have not been able to find an id site w/ pictures to identify iy, and my digital camera has no batteries, or else I would post a picture. Any help or suggestions would be very appreciated. Thank you!

Aubrey

 

[Wade]

Hard to say without a pic, but it may be a green June beetle, Cotinis nitida, or a related species. It may eat the banana, but you can also try maple syrup (pure is best) watered down a bit and offered in a shallow dish with some paper towels to prevent drowning. Check out this site to see if anything looks like yours:

http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/USInsects/

Also lots of good husbandry info as well!

Wade

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

Thanks a lot! I believe that it is a Fig Beetle, and it is eating the bananas. I'll try to give it some other fruits as well. I am glad that he has survived this long, I brought him home on airplanes with me from California in a cup in my purse, and he seems none the worse for it! I hope that is not illegal, but the airport workers did not seem to care.

Aubrey