Stats

Lifespan: 2-3 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate woodland
Range: Europe
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The European rose chafer is a jewel-bright scarab whose metallic green elytra achieve their iridescent sheen through structural coloration rather than pigment. Adults spend summer days feeding on flower pollen and nectar, often found basking on open roses and umbellifers.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Cetonia
Species: Cetonia aurata