Rose Chafer

Rose Chafers (Macrodactylus) are found throughout Central and Eastern North America. They are a smallish to medium sized beetle in the Scarabaeidae family of beetles. The one pictured here was about 3/8 of an inch long. It was a lovely beetle with an all over tan color and very long reddish colored spiny legs. They can be found in gardens, fields and meadows. This particular one was found near our timber edge next to a soybean field. Adults feed on a wide variety of plants despite their common name. They are know to consume the foliage of grapes, apples, cherries, elder, pear, foxglove, hollyhock, poppy, peonies and of course roses. The larva feed on the roots of grasses and turf, much like all scarab beetles. These beetles are known to be toxic to chickens and other birds. This is the first of this species I had ever seen, so I was very excited to be able to photograph it and later add it to my collection.