This beautiful beetle is often found in the apartment, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, sometimes when they are still very tiny, and sometimes as big as this one. They don't belong inside an apartment, so they are always taken outside. They are harmless, and handling them is very easy, but this one, in particular, wasn't very nice and decided to "go to the bathroom" on the helping hand. So rude!
This beetle (Gymnetis chalcipes) is one of many species commonly called Flower Chafers, or Fruit Beetles, belonging to a group of scarab beetles. This group used to comprise the subfamily Cetoniinae, however, more recent studies show that Cetoniidae beetles gather enough characteristics to be considered as a family different from Scarabaeidae. There are around 4,000 species, on all continents, and many still haven't been described.
Many of these beetles are diurnal and go to flowers for pollen and nectar, or to browse on the petals, but some species also feed on fruit. The larvae are saprophagous and are frequently found in the soil, rotten wood, tree cavities, and feces.
About 26 species are known in the Gymnetis genus, occurring from the United States to Argentina. The color of adult individuals is variable, even among the same species, and size may vary between 0.3 cm to 13 cm.
The beetle order, Coleoptera, is the largest of all, with about 400,000 species, it represents 40% of all described insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms, and new species are often discovered. A recent study provided four independent estimates of the total number of beetle species, giving a mean estimate of 1.5 million beetle species.
Beetles are very present in human culture, from the sacred scarabs in ancient Egypt to art, collectibles, pets, or used for entertainment and gambling, as fighting insects. Over 300 species are even used as food, mostly in their larval stage.

Music: Second Smile - LMOP