Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing copper chafers– although you may have heard them called “chafers” as well. These beetles have a metallic name due to their metallic appearance. They’re often bronzy but can also appear gold, green, and rose-colored. In fact, their vast array of colors has given rise to multiple common names. They’re also known as rosy chafers, however there are other scarab species in this family with this same common name, so it gets a little confusing. This even applies to their scientific naming! Copper chafers have gone through multiple name changes throughout the years, and even today it’s not decided exactly where they land taxonomically speaking. Many sources refer to them as a species complex, which means it’s likely that multiple species exist within the copper chafer species, but they simply haven’t all been defined. It’s similar to the Galapagos tortoise species complex we’ve discussed in a previous episode.

Copper chafers have a broad range, which likely contributes to their differences. Populations that have been cut off from each other have changed over time to become different from one another. These beetles live throughout Europe and western Asia from Russia and Northern China to the Middle East. With such a wide range, copper chafer beetles have adapted to a variety of habitats. They’re commonly found in grasslands and forests, but they’re equally at home in mountainous regions at elevations up to 2,000 meters. It's not uncommon to find them in grazing fields where they stick around livestock dung– they are scarabs after all! Some of the most famous scarabs are dung beetles, although copper chafers are well known throughout their range due to their brilliant hues.

These beetles are diurnal, meaning they’re active during the day, and they’re skillful flyers. They can maneuver around tree branches and shrubs to reach flowers where they’ll sip on nectar, gather pollen, munch on fruit, and occasionally snack on other insects. This makes them both pollinators and, unfortunately, agricultural pests. While foraging, they often move between flowers and trees, helping to pollinate plants along the way. But when wildflowers dry up in late summer, these beetles turn to ripe fruits for sustenance, which can lead to problems for farmers. In Israel, for example, a second generation of adults can emerge in late summer, just in time to raid the fruit harvest.

Copper chafer are on the smaller side, measuring less than an inch (2.5 cm) long on average. Their metallic sheen doesn't come from pigments. Instead, these insects have microscopic structures in their exoskeleton that reflect light in different ways, producing the beetle's iridescent colors. Not only do these structures shimmer in sunlight, they also make the copper chafer’s exoskeleton stronger. They're resistant to fractures which means their outer shell is truly like a suit of metal armor! This doesn't make them impervious however. They're still taken by beetle-eating predators such as birds, small mammals, and even other invertebrates like spiders.

Copper chafers typically hatch from their egg, grow, reproduce, and pass away within a year's time, although in some parts of the world they can have two generations in a single year. The larvae primarily eat decaying wood, especially oak trees, and a female may lay her eggs accordingly to ensure her offspring are near this food source. Of course, their differences even run as deep as their life cycle. Some copper chafers have also been found in compost heaps and ant colonies where the growing larvae feed on the ant's nest material! How this impacts the ants is still being studied!

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