Blue monkey beetles are important pollinators of the Namaqualand region, especially for Mesembryanthemum and some daisy species, on which they primarily feed.

It was first described in 1885 by Louis Péringuey, a noted French entomologist who was director of the South African Museum for eighteen years.

Dense short greyish to silvery white fine hairs cover the margins of the thorax and abdomen.

In males the hind legs are also more strongly developed than in females, swollen and more robust through the femora, tibiae, and tarsi.

[2][4][5][6] Adult blue monkey beetles are typically found grouped in the centres of unscented flowers that bear dark discs and bright petals with spot patterns at the bases.

They feed on the pollen, embedding their heads into the discs and browsing, and sometimes supporting themselves by hooking their hind tarsal claws onto the flower petals.

[4][6][7][8][9] Flowers of the genus Mesembryanthemum are common hosts of S. trimeni, as are many of the African daisy species and some Heliophila.