Editing Cetonia aurata

{{short description|Species of beetle}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Cetonia-aurata.jpg
| genus = Cetonia
| species = aurata
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision_ref = <ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.gbif.org/species/1077829 |title=Cetonia aurata |publisher=Global Biodiversity Information Facility  |access-date=2018-01-04}}</ref>
| subdivision = 
*''Cetonia aurata aurata'' Linneaeus, 1761
*''Cetonia aurata pallida'' (Drury, 1770)
*''Cetonia aurata pisana'' Heer, 1841
*''Cetonia aurata jingkelii'' Flutsch & Tauzin, 2009
*''Cetonia aurata pokornyi'' Rataj, 2000
*''Cetonia aurata sicula'' Aliquo, 1983
*''Cetonia aurata viridiventris'' Reitter, 1896
}}

'''''Cetonia aurata''''', called the '''rose chafer''' or the '''green rose chafer''', is a [[beetle]], {{convert|20|mm|in|frac=4}} long, that has a metallic [[structural coloration|structurally coloured]] green and a distinct V-shaped [[Scutellum (insect anatomy)|scutellum]]. The scutellum is the small V-shaped area between the wing cases; it may show several small, irregular, white lines and marks. The underside of the beetle has a coppery colour, and its upper side is sometimes bronze, copper, violet, blue/black, or grey.

''Cetonia aurata'' should not be confused with the North American rose chafer, ''[[Macrodactylus subspinosus]]'', or with the rarely seen [[noble chafer]], ''Gnorimus nobilis'', which is very similar to the rose chafer. One way to identify ''Cetonia aurata'' is to look at its [[Scutellum (insect anatomy)|scutellum]]; on the noble chafer the scutellum is an [[equilateral triangle]], but on the rose chafer it is an [[isosceles triangle]].

==Description==
Rose chafers are capable of fast flight; they fly with their wing cases down. They feed on [[pollen]], [[nectar]], and [[flower]]s, especially [[rose]]s. They can be found among roses on warm sunny days from May until June or July, and occasionally as late as September. Rose chafers are found in southern and central Europe and in the southern part of the [[United Kingdom]], where they sometimes seem to be very localized. They can also be found in South East Asia, in the countryside and outlying islands of [[Hong Kong]]. They are a beneficial [[saprophagous]] species ([[detritivore]]s).

===Life cycle===
The [[larva]]e are C–shaped and have a firm, wrinkled, hairy body, a small head, and tiny legs. The larvae overwinter wherever they have been feeding, which may be in [[compost]], [[manure]], [[leaf mould]], or rotting wood. They grow very quickly and will have moulted twice before the end of autumn. They have a two-year [[Biological life cycle|life cycle]]. They [[pupa]]te in June or July. Some adult beetles may emerge in autumn, but the main emergence is in spring, when the beetles mate. After mating, the female beetles lay their [[Egg (biology)|eggs]] in decaying organic matter and then die.

===Coloration===
The metallic green [[animal coloration|coloration]] of the beetle is created [[structural coloration|structurally]],<ref name="A.A. Michelson">{{Cite journal |author=A. A. Michelson |title=On metallic colourings in birds and insects |journal=[[Philosophical Magazine]] |volume=21 |issue=124 |pages=554–567 |year=1911 |doi=10.1080/14786440408637061|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1430722 }}</ref> by the reflection of mostly [[circular polarization|circularly-polarised]] light; like other scarabs, this is left circularly polarised:<ref name="A.A. Michelson"/> When viewed through a right circular [[polariser]], the beetle appears to be colorless. There are also different colors besides the common green; there is also copper, grey and black. A lot of specimens have white speckles while some have very few or none at all.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hegedüsa |first=Ramón |author2=Győző Szélb |author3=Gábor Horváth|date=September 2006 |title=Imaging polarimetry of the circularly polarizing cuticle of scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Rutelidae, Cetoniidae)|journal=Vision Research |volume=46 |issue=17 |pages=2786–2797 |doi=10.1016/j.visres.2006.02.007 |pmid=16564066|doi-access=free }}</ref> It has been described as a left-hand narrow-band [[elliptical polarization|elliptical polariser]].<ref>[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14786435.2011.648228 Chirality-induced polarization effects in the cuticle of scarab beetles: 100 years after Michelson. 2012]</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
Scara fg03.jpg|Larva 
Cetoine global.jpg|Pupa
Cetonia aurata (Linnaeus 1761).jpg|Adult
Cétoine dorée vol.jpg|With outspread wings; note the closed [[elytra]]
Cetonia aurata take off composition 05172009.jpg|Flight pattern
Cetonia aurata MF.jpg|Color variations
Rose chafers (Cetonia aurata) on thistle (Carduus sp.).jpg|On thistle
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Scarab (disambiguation)]]
*[[Scarab (artifact)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Cetonia aurata|Rose chafer}}
{{Commons}}
*[http://beetlespace.wz.cz/e_Cetonia_aurata.html Photos of ''Cetonia aurata'']
*Photos of [https://www.goliathus.com/en/en-cetonia-aurata.html Rose chafer - ''Cetonia aurata''] and other [https://www.goliathus.com/en/en-cetonidae.html flower beetles].
*[http://maria.fremlin.org/cetonia_aurata/ Rose chafer ''Cetonia aurata'', some life cycle photos].
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k2Xx8rDgjo Color of ''Cetonia aurata'' through 3D movie glasses], a 23-second YouTube video demonstrating the handedness of the shiny color of the beetle.

{{Taxonbar|from=Q731970}}

[[Category:Cetoniinae]]
[[Category:Beetles of Europe]]
[[Category:Beetles described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]