Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata)

Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata (Linnaeus, 1761))

Scientific name: Cetonia aurata (Linnaeus, 1761)
Common name: Rose Chafer
Other names: Goldsmith Beetle, Leaf Chafer, June Bug or Golden Fly
French name: Cétoine dorée
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cetoniidae
Wingspan : 15-20 mm. The width of the body can be half of the length.
Biotope: Larvae grow in compost or rotting wood. The development cycle can reach 3 years. You can often see imagos on flowers (roses, pyracantha, etc.)
Geographic area: South and central Europe, America.
Observation period : May to September, especially on sunny days.

The Rose Chafer is large coleoptera with a metallic green coloration.
You can also find some with a bronze, copper, violet, blue/black or grey colour.
There is a V shape on the back just behind the head.
The Rose Chafer also shows small whitish marks across the elytra.
The underside is a coppery colour.
The Rose Chafer can easily fly. The elytra remain closed and the hind wings are deployed through holes on each side.
In Corsica, you can also find Cetonia carthami which shows a more punctuated pronotum and two small rounded white patches near the tip of the elytra.

Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) - Yvelines, France - May 7th 2007

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I saw this Rose Chafer on Piracantha flowers.
As I also saw some Rose Chafer on the compost box, I will check whether the big white larvae you can find inside aren't the Rose Chafer which will fly in my garden these next years.

Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) - Yvelines, France - May 14th 2007

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