Golden Bronze Beetle - Cetonia aurata L.
The beetle is magnificently colored. Under the bright rays of the sun, the bronze beetle shines like a precious stone, sparkling like gold. The body is wide, with a golden-green color on top and a copper-red color underneath. There are white transverse stripes on the elytra. Its length is up to 20 mm.
The bronze beetle is often mistaken for the common May beetle, as they belong to the same family. These insects can be distinguished by their bright metallic color and flight. During flight, the hard elytra of the bronze beetles remain folded, unlike most beetles, while the thin transparent wings are released through notches on the sides.
Therefore, despite their size, these beetles maneuver well in the air.
Adult beetles are very resilient; with the onset of cold weather, they burrow not very deep into the ground, where they spend the entire winter, enduring even the harshest frosts.
Golden bronze beetles feed on flowers (of wild and cultivated herbaceous plants, trees, and shrubs). They gnaw on leaves, young shoots, and petals. The hearts of flowers are a delicacy for these beetles.
They also do not shy away from the juice and juicy pulp of ripe fruits. In spring and summer, bronze beetles can be found on the flowers of various plants, often spotted on lilacs. Sometimes they eat young shoots and gnaw deep holes in the fruits of apple and pear trees. The bronze beetle can plop down directly onto a flower; another insect would not be able to hold on, but the bronze beetle has sticky feet.
In a pile of compost, you can see large white larvae. They are thick and well-fed. They are often mistaken for May beetle larvae.
The bronze beetle larva eats continuously, turning already decayed dead leaves and stems into powder. Veins would remain intact in rotting leaves for a long time. The larva also consumes these slowly decaying remains: with its strong jaws, it breaks them down into fibers and then gnaws on them. In its intestine, they are transformed into a paste, quite suitable for fertilizing the soil.
The larvae of this beetle have a strange habit: they crawl while lying on their backs, with their legs up. If such a larva is turned onto its belly, it will flip back onto its back and continue to crawl in this strange position. It can also curl into a ring when alarmed.
In ancient times, many medicines were made from beetles in folk medicine to treat certain diseases. An infusion from bronze beetles was used against rabies. However, in a special test of this remedy, its therapeutic effect was not confirmed.
Distribution: throughout the territory of Kyrgyzstan
Insects of Kyrgyzstan