Everything you need to know about the flower chafer ‘Christmas’ beetle
Flower chafer beetles are attracted to lights at night, often flying through an open window. Fortunately, they do not produce a stink when threatened nor do they bite.
AS the weather begins to warm up, you may notice an invasion of little brown beetles – the size, shape and colour of a peanut – flying into homes through open windows at night.
These beetles are a type of flower chafer beetle, called the rose flower chafer, also commonly known as Christmas beetles, because they emerge close to Christmas. Their scientific name is Hypopholis sommeri.
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Nature enthusiast and professional snake catcher in the south of Durban, Warren Dick, shares his knowledge of flower chafer beetles.
According to Warren, there are more than 4 000 species of flower chafer beetles worldwide, with many more to be scientifically described.
They are small-to-medium-sized beetles that come in a variety of different colours. As their name suggests, the adults feed on flower petals, some feed on plant sap and others may include fruit in their diet. Young flower chafer beetles are small grubs that live underground, feeding on decaying leaf litter or plant roots.
Most flower chafer beetles are active during the day – except for the rose flower chafer which is active at night or on cool rainy days, where the adults feed on flowers, especially roses. Unfortunately, they are known to damage garden plants. The larvae of the rose chafer beetle feed on grass roots, however, if your grass is well maintained, they should not cause any damage to it.
Contact Warren to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified – call or WhatsApp him on 072 211 0353. Visit his Facebook page, Warren’s Small World, to learn more about nature.
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