- The Figeater Beetle (Cotinis Mutabilis), also widely known as the green fruit beetle or fig beetle, is a large, metallic-green insect native to the southwestern United States and Mexico - Also known as "flying emeralds" or "monsoon beetles" - Belonging to the scarab beetle family, they are famous for their gorgeous, iridescent bodies and their incredibly loud, clumsy flight patterns during the summer months - Because they rely on moist environments to breed and lay eggs, they are rarely found in the open, arid desert ... instead, they crowd into southern Arizona backyards, orchards, and parks like Sabino Canyon and Sweetwater Wetlands - Typically adults emerge around the first day of summer, but their numbers absolutely explode in July and August ... they are highly synchronized with the humidity of the monsoon rains ... the hot, damp weather triggers them to take flight, mate, and look for food