White spotted rose beetle Oxythyrea funesta

Features

Thermophilic species, which is more common in SW Slovenia. Adults are active daily from spring to late summer. They like to sit on flowers and fruits, where they feed on pollen or lick nectar and fruit juices, and often devour whole flowers, which can cause economic damage to fruit trees.

Species	Insect
Living space	Bush crowns, Meadow, Treeline
Size	8-13 mm

Description

Larvae are up to 30 mm long, they feed on plant roots and can remain until next spring in the soil. The adults appear early in the spring, they grow up to 8–12 millimetres and can mostly be encountered from May through July. They are considered an insect pest that do not just feed on pollen, but rode the floral organs, especially damaging light in color buds and flowers. Their colour is black, more or less bronzed. Most of the specimens show six white spots in two longitudinal rows on the pronotum and many other on the elytra. They are completely covered with white pubescence (easily visible in profile). Older specimens usually have no hairs, as they are rubbed off with time.