Cétonide/ cétoine

English translation: cetonid beetles / beetles of the Cetoniidae family

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:cétonide/ cétoine
English translation:cetonid beetles / beetles of the Cetoniidae family
Entered by: Charles Davis

08:38 Sep 21, 2016
French to English translations [PRO]
Science - Science (general) / Insect names
French term or phrase: Cétonide/ cétoine
Hi.
Context: report on biodiversity and climate change in Africa.
Location for this section: DR Congo (Congo river)

"La biodiversité est exceptionnelle au Congo (okapi, bonobo, insectes coléoptères cétonides avec encore de gigantesques surfaces de forêt équatoriale humide"

Is "cétonide" a mistake. Should it be "cétoine"? I can't find any information about this insect, other than a poem about a Japanese beetle, which seems unlikely in DR Congo..

Can anyone help?

Thanks,
Mr.Q
Netherlands
Local time: 06:27
cetonid beetles / beetles of the Cetoniidae family
Explanation:
I'm suggesting these two alternatives to translate the whole phrase "insectes coléoptères cétonides".

"Cétonides" means members of the family Cetoniidae. This is one of 26 families (if I've counted correctly) that make up the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, and the latter in turn is one of about 19 superfamilies in the order Coleoptera, which belongs to the class Insecta.

Cenonia is a genus, one of the very many genera that make up the Cetoniidae family. In other words, by no means all cétonides are Cenonia; many belong to other genera.
http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/browse/tree/id/9302f77733...

Some taxonomists establish a subfamily of Cetoniidae called Cetoniinae, subdivided in turn into various tribes and subtribes. Cetoniinae are called flower chafers in English. The genus Cetonia belongs to this subfamily, along with many other genres.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_chafer

So you can't use Cetonia here.

"Insectes coléoptères" can just be rendered as beetles; basically, the term beetle is synonymous with the order Coleoptera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle

You could put Coleoptera instead but I think this would not be in keeping with the rest of the passage, which uses common names.

So the correct formal way to say this would be "of the Cetoniidae family" (or "of the family Cetoniidae"). An alternative would be to use the term "cetonid beetles", which used to be used by biologists and sometimes still is:

"A number of cetonid beetles have also been ascribed pest status as a result of their diverse feeding habits"
This is from Google result for the abstract of the 1994 PhD thesis of a Harvard entomologist, available on request.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/33827167_A_comparat...

Here's an older example: "Description of two new Cetonid Beetles from British East Africa", published in 1904:
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/2877

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2016-09-21 09:48:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There is a famous though possibly apocryphal story according to which the biologist J. B. S. Haldane, when asked if anything could be concluded about the Creator from a study of creation, replied that He had "an inordinate fondness for beetles", referring to the fact that there were over 300,000 known species (there are no doubt more now).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2016-09-21 10:10:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I didn't give you any evidence that cétonides means Cetoniidae. See here:

"Nouveaux Cétonides de l’Angola (Coleoptera, Cetoniidae)
Philippe ANTOINE
Entomologia Africana 5 (2), 2000 : 20-29"
http://www.pprfth-ac.org/edito/?q=content/nouveaux-cetonides...

If you look at this reference you'll see that not one of these newly-discovered "cétonides" is from the genus Cetonia.

And many apologies for having mistakenly written Cenonia for Cetonia in my answer. Things are confusing enough without getting the name wrong.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 06:27
Grading comment
Thanks
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1cetonid beetles / beetles of the Cetoniidae family
Charles Davis
3 +1Cetoniidae/Cetonia
Rasha A.


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Cetoniidae/Cetonia


Explanation:
Cétonie doré = Cetonia aurata / rose chafer / the green rose chafer

Coléoptères = (Coleoptera) Beetle


    https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleoptera
Rasha A.
Belgium
Local time: 06:27
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: you were first
11 days
  -> Thank you :)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
cetonid beetles / beetles of the Cetoniidae family


Explanation:
I'm suggesting these two alternatives to translate the whole phrase "insectes coléoptères cétonides".

"Cétonides" means members of the family Cetoniidae. This is one of 26 families (if I've counted correctly) that make up the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, and the latter in turn is one of about 19 superfamilies in the order Coleoptera, which belongs to the class Insecta.

Cenonia is a genus, one of the very many genera that make up the Cetoniidae family. In other words, by no means all cétonides are Cenonia; many belong to other genera.
http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/browse/tree/id/9302f77733...

Some taxonomists establish a subfamily of Cetoniidae called Cetoniinae, subdivided in turn into various tribes and subtribes. Cetoniinae are called flower chafers in English. The genus Cetonia belongs to this subfamily, along with many other genres.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_chafer

So you can't use Cetonia here.

"Insectes coléoptères" can just be rendered as beetles; basically, the term beetle is synonymous with the order Coleoptera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle

You could put Coleoptera instead but I think this would not be in keeping with the rest of the passage, which uses common names.

So the correct formal way to say this would be "of the Cetoniidae family" (or "of the family Cetoniidae"). An alternative would be to use the term "cetonid beetles", which used to be used by biologists and sometimes still is:

"A number of cetonid beetles have also been ascribed pest status as a result of their diverse feeding habits"
This is from Google result for the abstract of the 1994 PhD thesis of a Harvard entomologist, available on request.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/33827167_A_comparat...

Here's an older example: "Description of two new Cetonid Beetles from British East Africa", published in 1904:
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/2877

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2016-09-21 09:48:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There is a famous though possibly apocryphal story according to which the biologist J. B. S. Haldane, when asked if anything could be concluded about the Creator from a study of creation, replied that He had "an inordinate fondness for beetles", referring to the fact that there were over 300,000 known species (there are no doubt more now).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2016-09-21 10:10:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I didn't give you any evidence that cétonides means Cetoniidae. See here:

"Nouveaux Cétonides de l’Angola (Coleoptera, Cetoniidae)
Philippe ANTOINE
Entomologia Africana 5 (2), 2000 : 20-29"
http://www.pprfth-ac.org/edito/?q=content/nouveaux-cetonides...

If you look at this reference you'll see that not one of these newly-discovered "cétonides" is from the genus Cetonia.

And many apologies for having mistakenly written Cenonia for Cetonia in my answer. Things are confusing enough without getting the name wrong.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 06:27
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  John Speese: Basically they are chafers. Insect taxonomy changes constantly. These beetles were formerly classified as a subfamily in the family Scarabaeidae, which includes the Japanese beetle, scarabs, June beetles, and many others.
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, John! Yes, taxonomy does seem to shift all the time. I remember reading somewhere that it's the most venomously contentious field in biology.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search