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beetle Summer Chafers

Identify It >   Invertebrate Section >   Beetle Section >   Summer Chafers >


Scientific name:  Amphimallon solstitialis

Size:  Approx 20mm long

Distribution:  Found throughout the UK

Months seen:  June to August

Life span:  The adult beetles live for up to 8 weeks

Habitat:  Meadows, hedgerows and gardens

Food:  Adults feed on leaves of various plants and trees.  The larvae feed on roots

Special features:  Summer Chafers look similar to the cockchafer but they are much smaller and the abdomen is more rounded at the tail end (rather than pointed).  Also the head and thorax is brown, wheras on the cockchafer it is grey.  The antennae have just three segments.

Summer Chafers are declining in numbers now, but where found they are often seen in large numbers, often around deciduous trees.

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