''Oxythyrea funesta'' is a

phytophagous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet (nutrition), diet. These more broadly also encompass an ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

species belonging to the family Cetoniidae, subfamily

Cetoniinae Flower chafers are a group of scarab beetles comprising the subfamily Cetoniinae. Many species are diurnal and visit flowers for pollen and nectar, or to browse on the petals. Some species also feed on fruit. The group is also called fruit and ...

. Common name “white spotted rose beetle”. This beetle is present in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, and in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. Larvae are up to 30 mm long, they feed on plant roots and can remain until next spring in the soil. The adults appear early in the spring, they grow up to and can mostly be encountered from May through July. They are considered an insect pest that do not just feed on pollen, but rode the floral organs, especially damaging light in color buds and flowers. Their colour is black, more or less bronzed. Most of the specimens show six white spots in two longitudinal rows on the pronotum and many others on the elytra. They are completely covered with white pubescence (easily visible in profile). Older specimens usually have no hairs, as they are rubbed off with time.

Subspecies

* ''Oxythyrea funesta'' var. ''consobrina'' Villa * ''Oxythyrea funesta'' var. ''deleta'' Mulsant Scarabeidae - Oxythyrea funesta.JPG, Oxythyrea funesta.ogv, White-spotted rose beetles (Oxythyrea funesta) mating.jpg, Mating,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

File:White-spotted barbary bugs (Oxythyrea funesta) mating Cap Bon.jpg, Mating,

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Scarabaeidae - Oxythyrea funesta.JPG, Older specimen

External links

Biolib

Fauna europaea
Cetoniinae Beetles of Europe Beetles described in 1761 Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus {{Cetoniinae-stub