Cetonia aurata
The Rose chafer is beautiful shiny green beetle found in the South of the UK. In some areas it is uncommon but in others can seen in healthy numbers quite regularly.
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We started this breeding project in Summer 2025 with just one adult male and two adult females. We kept them in a deep terrarium in our garden with about 30cm of compressed heavily organic substrate. The adults are not too fussy and will lay eggs in any organic substrate providing it is moist enough.
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After just three weeks we checked through the substrate and collected 18 eggs and 5 larvae. Due to the high heat of the Summer it was not advisable to keep them inside the terrarium outside. They are now housed in our garage to mimic more normal temperatures deeper in the soil.
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We hope to continue to breed this species for conservation and aim to release adults in 2026 or Spring 2027 in various permitted sites across Cornwall and South Devon.
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Our three adults continued to lay eggs in their outside terrarium in good numbers. We currently have around 40 L1 larvae which feed very well on fruit and vegetables near the surface of the substrate or buried below. It appears that raw compost material is preferred by these larvae to higher grade flake soil type substrates.
