Rose chafer
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| Rose chafer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cetonia aurata (Linnaeus, 1761) |
The rose chafer (Cetonia aurata, also known as the goldsmith beetle, leaf chafer or golden fly) is a reasonably large beetle growing to 18 mm (0.7 in) long that has metallic green coloration (but can be bronze, copper, violet, blue/black or grey) with a distinct v shape across the upper back just below the head and having several other irregular small white lines and marks. The underside is a coppery colour. Rosa chafers make laborious movements amongst grass and other vegetation, and are capable of flight. They are found on roses (from where they gets their name), and are a very common insect in some areas, usually seen between May and June/July, occasionally to September, and usually in sunny weather. They feed on foliage, buds, flowers and the fruits of blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, cabbage, beans, beet and pepper plants.
Larvae overwinter in soil or rotting timber, rising to the surface in the spring to pupate. After a few weeks the adult beetle emerges to feed for 4-6 weeks. Following mating, the females deposit groups of 6-40 eggs about 15 cm (6 in) below the soil surface in sandy or grassy areas and then die (eggs are occasionally laid in rotting wood). Larvae hatch, depending on the temperature, in 1-3 weeks to feed voraciously on plant roots. Rosa chafers are found over southern and central Europe and parts of America, but apparently uncommon in the UK. They are capable of a heavy lumbering flight with a low droning sound.de:Goldglänzender Rosenkäfer