Protaetia speciosa

Protaetia speciosa is a beetle of the family Scarabaeidae and subfamily Cetoniinae.

Protaetia speciosa
P.s. jousselini at Prague's National Museum (top), P.s. cyanochlora at Entomica Insectarium (bottom)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Scarabaeiformia
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Genus:	Protaetia
Species:	P. speciosa
Binomial name
Protaetia speciosa (Adams, 1817)
Synonyms
Cetonischema speciosa (Adams, 1817)

Description

Protaetia speciosa can reach a body length of about 23–30 mm (0.9–1.2 in). The basic colour of the body typically is metallic golden-green, but depending on subspecies sometimes red or blue. Adults can be found from May to October, with a peak in June–August. These beetles feed primarily on tree sap and fruits. The larvae develop in rotten wood of deciduous trees, mainly oak and willow.

Distribution

This flower beetle is present in the Near East and far southeastern Europe, in northern Iraq, Syria, northern Iran, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, southernmost Russia and Romania.

Habitat

This beetle lives in deciduous forests, in plains and mountains.

Subspecies

• Protaetia speciosa cyanochlora Schauer, 1941
• Protaetia speciosa jousselini (Gory & Percheron, 1833)
• Protaetia speciosa speciosa (Adams, 1817)
• Protaetia speciosa venusta (Ménétriès, 1836)

References

• Biolib
• Fauna europaea
• Zipcodezoo

External links

• Protaetia (Cetonischema) speciosa (Adams, 1817) - photo by A.S. Vlasenko
• Protaetia (Cetonischema) speciosa jousselini