How to recognize garden chafer

Garden chafers belong to the family of the scarab beetles and are 8 to 12 mm in size. It is much smaller than its cousin the common cockchafer. The beetle has red-brown, hairy cover shields and a black abdomen with a blue green shine. The antennae have brush-like endings. The beetles emerge half May from the ground and, after mating, deposit eggs in the soil at a depth of 10 to 25 cm. The larvae can reach a size of 20 mm and are called, like the common cockchafer, grubs. The larvae have a distinguishable head, 3 pairs of legs and a white colour. The larvae of garden chafers do not roll up when picked up like common cockchafer larvae do. Adult garden chafers fly in the middle of the day low above grass fields. 

Garden chafer damage

Adult garden chafers feed from leaf and flower buds of roses and other ornamentals. This causes mainly cosmetic damage. The larvae cause the most damage. They feed from plant roots of grasses from summer to next year spring. This causes withered, barren spots in grass fields. The damage is increased when birds burrow the soil in search of the larvae.

  • Garden chafer life cycle

    beetles fly from half May and deposit eggs underground
    eggs hatch after several weeks
    larvae feed on plant roots
    larvae pupate in early spring
    egg to adult in one year

  • Garden chafer host plants

    ornamental crops, such as rose
    berry crops
    grass fields, lawns, sport fields, golf fields

  • Garden chafer

  • Garden chafer