Head to head
Noble Chafer vs Rose Chafer
Noble Chafer
VS Rose Chafer
The noble chafer and the rose chafer are two metallic green scarab beetles that visit the same kinds of flowers, and they are easily confused.
| Noble Chafer | Rose Chafer | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Gnorimus nobilis | Cetonia aurata |
| Relationship | A shiny scarab beetle that visits flowers | A shiny scarab beetle that visits flowers |
| Colour and size | A shiny, bronze-green to coppery beetle, about 15 to 20 mm long, with a slightly flattened look | A metallic green body that can look coppery, bronze, or bluish depending on the light |
| Larvae | Fat, C-shaped larvae that develop in the soft, rotting heartwood inside old, hollow trees, particularly old fruit trees | Thick, curved grubs that live in rotting wood, compost heaps, and leaf litter, taking two or three years to mature |
| Adults | Visit flowers such as hawthorn, elder, and umbellifers in early summer | Gather on flowers such as roses, elder, and hawthorn in warm sunshine, eating petals, pollen, and nectar |
| Special trait | Its larvae need hollows in veteran trees, which take decades to form | Flies with its wing cases closed, sending its flight wings out through notches at the sides |
| Habitat | Old orchards, parkland, and woodland with veteran trees across Europe | Woodland edges, meadows, gardens, and parks across Europe and western Asia |
| Conservation status | Near Threatened, declining with the loss of old orchards and veteran trees | Not Evaluated, and a common garden beetle |
Noble Chafer vs Rose Chafer: common questions
Which one is rarer?
The noble chafer, which is Near Threatened because it depends on veteran trees with decaying hollows, which are lost when old orchards are cleared.
Where do their grubs live?
Noble chafer larvae live in the rotting heartwood of old, hollow trees, whereas rose chafer grubs live in rotting wood, compost heaps, and leaf litter.
Which one flies with its wing cases closed?
The rose chafer, which sends its flight wings out through notches at the sides of its closed wing cases.