Rose chafer
Cetonia aurata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbeetles
The rose chafer (Cetonia aurata) is an insect in the beetle subgroup, placed in the family Scarabaeidae and the subfamily Cetoniinae. It belongs to the order Coleoptera, suborder Polyphaga and superfamily Scarabaeoidea, within the class Insecta and phylum Arthropoda.
Quick facts about the rose chafer
Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758), and it is also called the Common rose chafer or European rose chafer. The Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 2.08 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the rose chafer?
Photos of the rose chafer
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the rose chafer live?
Not recorded
What is the rose chafer?
Cetonia aurata, called the rose chafer or the green rose chafer, is a beetle, 20 millimetres (3⁄4 in) long, that has a metallic structurally coloured green and a distinct V-shaped 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; on the noble chafer the scutellum is an equilateral triangle, but on the rose chafer it is an isosceles triangle.
From the Wikipedia article “Cetonia aurata” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cetonia_aurata&oldid=1360099521), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the rose chafer endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the rose chafer classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderColeoptera
- familyScarabaeidae
- genusCetonia
- SpeciesCetonia aurata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Cetonia aurata danyae, Cetonia aurata daviderici, Scarabaeus auratus
Other names and names in other languages (52)
- Common rose chaferEnglish
- European rose chaferEnglish
- جعل ذهبيArabic
- cetoniaAsturian
- Бронзаўка залацістаяBelarusian
- Обикновена златкаBulgarian
- zlatohlávek zlatýCzech
- GuldbasseDanish
- Almindelig guldbasseDanish
- Grøn guldbasseDanish
- RosentorbistDanish
- Goldglänzender RosenkäferGerman
- Gemeiner RosenkäferGerman
- GoldkäferGerman
- Ora cetonioEsperanto
- KuldpõrnikasEstonian
- kultakuoriainenFinnish
- Cétoine doréeFrench
- Zlatna maraCroatian
- Aranyos rózsabogárHungarian
- Aranyos virágbogárHungarian
- Cetonio oreaIdo
- moscon d'oroItalian
- cetonia dorataItalian
- キンイロハナムグリJapanese
- BronzinukasLithuanian
- Paprastasis auksavabalisLithuanian
- Zeltītā rožvaboleLatvian
- hårgullbasseNorwegian Bokmål
- RozenkeverDutch
- Gouden TorDutch
- Gouden TorDutch
- Ruwharige rozenkeverDutch
- ManjaròsasOccitan
- Kruszczyca złotawkaPolish
- Besouro-bronzePortuguese
- Besouro-das-rosasPortuguese
- Gândac de trandafirRomanian
- Бронзовка золотистаяRussian
- Золотистая бронзовкаRussian
- zlatoň obyčajnýSlovak
- Zlata minicaSlovenian
- Буба-златаSerbian
- БубазлатаSerbian
- BubazlataSerbian
- Gräsgrön guldbaggeSwedish
- Gül böceğiTurkish
- Altın BöceğiTurkish
- Avrupa Gül BöceğiTurkish
- Бронзівка золотистаUkrainian
- 金花金龜Chinese
- 金花金龟Chinese
Relatives of the rose chafer
Other species in the same genus Cetonia.
CompareRose chafer vs Black pollen beetleRose chafer vs Cetonia aeratulaRose chafer vs Cetonia asiaticaRose chafer vs Cetonia bicostula
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the rose chafer?
The rose chafer is an insect in the beetle subgroup. It belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Scarabaeidae.
What is the scientific name of the rose chafer?
Its scientific name is Cetonia aurata, in the genus Cetonia.
Who named the rose chafer and when?
The authority for Cetonia aurata is (Linnaeus, 1758).
What family and subfamily does the rose chafer belong to?
It belongs to the family Scarabaeidae and the subfamily Cetoniinae, in the tribe Cetoniini.
What other names does the rose chafer have?
It is also called the Common rose chafer and the European rose chafer.
Is the rose chafer extinct?
No. The Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rose chafer (Cetonia aurata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cetonia-aurata
“Rose chafer (Cetonia aurata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cetonia-aurata.
@misc{cetonia_aurata_2026,
title = {Rose chafer (Cetonia aurata)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cetonia-aurata},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}