The blue flower chafer is a small East Asian beetle that burrows into flowers to eat pollen, and it is not found in the United States. Most are green with tiny white spots, but some are coppery red or black. It is also called the smaller green flower chafer.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About ⅜–⅝ in (10–15 mm) long and slightly flattened. The back is green with small scattered white spots and sparse brown hairs that rub off easily; the underside is black. Some individuals are coppery red or black instead of green.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- flowery meadows
- woodland edges
- gardens
- Range
- Japan, the Korean Peninsula, China, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It is not established in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Adults gather on blooming flowers; larvae live in rotting wood and leaf mold.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults visit many kinds of flowers for pollen and nectar and sometimes chew petals.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Development from egg to adult takes one to two years; the grub pupates inside a chamber it builds.
- Larva
- Grubs feed on rotting wood and leaf mold. They are short, thick, and hairy, with small legs.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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