Rose Chafer Beetle
cetonia aurata
Although typically bright green, the Rose Chafer's beautiful, iridescent wing-cases are sometimes dark green, variegated or even golden. Chafer is a Middle English word thought to mean ‘to gnaw’ and relates to the beetle's feeding habits.
The Rose Chafer is a widespread but scarce large, broad beetle found in grassland, orchards and woodland edges. The adults feed on pollen, nectar and flowers - particularly Dog Roses - during the summer and autumn and are most easily spotted in warm, sunny weather. The Rose Chafer flies with its wing-cases open and is surprisingly fast.
The larvae feed on decaying wood, leaves, plants and roots, living in the soil for several years as they develop. When they pupate, they hibernate in the soil or in rotting wood over winter, ready to emerge as adults the following spring. The mature beetle typically measures 1.7 cm in length.
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The Rose Chafer is an iridescent coppery-green with small, creamy-white streaks on its wing cases. It can be hard to distinguish from the extremely rare and endangered Noble Chafer Beetle, which is found in similar habitats.