Oxythyrea funesta is a phytophagous beetle species belonging to the family Cetoniidae, subfamily Cetoniinae.
Common name "white spotted rose beetle".
This beetle is present in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East. It is not present in North or South America.
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 8–12 millimetres (0.31–0.47 in) 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.
The larvae build pupal cells in late summer or early autumn, in which they spend up to 1 week. They then molt. The pupal cell consists of pieces of soil and roots. The stage takes 3 weeks, but very often ends around the 15th day. The adults usually do not emerge after imagining and wait until the following spring, when they become active towards late April.
This phytophagous beetle is considered a pest because it feeds not only on pollen, but also on floral organs, particularly the light-colored flowers of Rosaceae (including fruit trees, roses, strawberries and irises). When present in large numbers, they can cause damage to peach, citrus, and Actinidia (kiwi) orchards or ornamental plant crops during flowering by consuming the stamens or damaging the pistils.
The rose chafer beetle has only one predator, the hairy scolia wasp (Scolia hirta), which parasitizes it. This species of wasp is endangered, leaving the field open for the rose chafer beetle to proliferate.
There is no chemical treatment. Gardeners who wish to eliminate this insect take advantage of its preference for white flowers, on which it is highly visible, and do so manually. This operation is more effective at lower temperatures, as the beetles' flight activity is limited below 18 degrees Celsius. Above this temperature, they will be lethargic, but their activity will gradually increase with the temperature and they will be more difficult to catch. Some commercial traps are available for purchase with chemical attractants but results are not impressive as they seem to find newly opened flower blossoms more attractive.
