Bright, cast in gold, brilliant bronze beetles appear with the first flowering of lilacs. You can see these beautiful individuals of green color anywhere: in the city, in the country, in the forest. Among the representatives of bronze, the most common are gold, marble and deer. All of them are distinguished by a lovely iridescent color. Rarer species populate Southeast Asia and the African jungle.
These representatives of bronzes belong to the family Scarabaeidae. They are easy to distinguish by a characteristic color, casting a metallic sheen, and addiction to write circles in flight. At the same time, the bronze beetle (photo above) adapted to fly in such a way that the upper elytra do not bloom. They are spliced from birth and are a shield under which there are cracks for the lower wings.
The most common form that can be seen in the middle and central part of Russia is gold bronze. First of all, males appear. Having wintered, they wake from sleep and go in search of a couple. In early May, the female lays eggs in the old foliage, and she dies.
From them, tiny larvae appear that feed on decaying plant debris. This happens until the fall. During this period, the larva becomes larger, pupates and hibernates in order to wake up as an adult insect in early July. The bronzovik is a rather large and noticeable bug.
The new generation eats nectar and pollen of all flowers growing in the area, as well as delicate petals and semi-decomposed fruits and berries. Bronze beetles circle above flowering shrubs and trees, forming entire colonies. Gold bronze is quite large. The size of her body reaches 2 cm. The elytra is bright green in color with a yellowish or golden tint.
A smaller, but no less common type of bronze is a deer beetle. Its color is black with bright spots and dense villi. He loves to spend his life in blooming flowers. In flight, he is much less time, but moves in the air swiftly and masterly. His life is short, it is only one summer. In spring, adult bronze beetles emerge from the pupa, mate several weeks later, the females lay offspring, and by autumn, adults die. The new generation remains to winter in the form of a larva until next year.
The largest bronzovik beetles of central Russia are marble. They have a truly magnificent appearance. The size often exceeds 2 cm, the elytra is dark brown in color with a characteristic shimmer, while the marble transverse stripes are clearly visible. Representatives of this species eat nectar, flower petals and the sweet juice of deciduous trees.
Unlike the previous two species,
the bronze marble beetles lay their larvae not in the ground, but in wood dust. For gardeners, these insects are the least dangerous, as they are rare, and offspring die in the winter due to devouring by birds.
Often, gardeners worry about the fact that these bugs with bright colors are noticed on the site. They will not cause huge harm, but they can completely spoil the appearance of the flowers . Is it worth it to fight with them, everyone decides for himself.