T. 22-punctata
         C. 7-punctata
         C. tenebrionis
         O. nasicornis
         C. aurata
         C. aeruginosa
         E. pareyssei
         E. faber
         C. cordigera

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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

  Veggie of the Month

Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) :: 2002/04/27 :: Lafkos - Milina :: © A.Papadopoulos Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) :: 2002/04/27 :: Lafkos - Milina :: © A.Papadopoulos Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata), Mating Couple :: 2001/06/02 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos No image! No image!

Rose Chafer

Cetonia aurata

A large and attractive beetle that can reach a length of 17 mm (approximately 2/3 in). Its clearly flattened  elytra are shiny, bronzy-green and flecked with white lines and marks.

It has a noisy bumbling flight, suddenly landing on a flower to begin feeding on the pollen. C. aurata prefers flowery and sheltered places near or in older woodland, but the adults are very mobile and can turn up almost anywhere. It is often found on roses, hence its common English name. It is a very common insect, usually active in sunny weather, which appears between May and September.  Larva lives in rotting wood.

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Fact Sheet

Food
Pollen from flowers, incl. roses, hence its common English name.

Active
April - October, but more abundant in spring.

Habitat
Flowery, sheltered places near or in old woodland. Larvae live in old timber.

Distribution
Common in southern and central Europe, less common in Britain.


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Taxonomy


Superkingdom: Eukaryota; Kingdom: Metazoa; Phylum: Arthropoda; Superclass: Hexapoda; Superclass: Hexapoda; Class: Insecta; Subclass: Neoptera; Order: Coleoptera; Family: Scarabaeidae; Genus: Cetonia; Species: aurata

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