Rose chafer

Rose chafer

We are delighted that Ute Engelbach-Trommer has taken over the sponsorship of the rose chafer (Dicronorhina oberthuri).

This diurnal species owes its genus name, which translates from Greek as "two-headed nose" ("dikranos-": two-headed; "rhino-": nose), to the strong horn on the head, which is only pronounced in the males and runs transversely at the tip.

The animals reach a size of around 30 to 50 millimetres; they are very active and especially fond of climbing.


The males are very belligerent (two fighting males can be seen in this photo) and will even fight much larger beetles in defence or to conquer feeding grounds. In the attack position they lower their heads to appear more threatening; sometimes such fights even lead to injuries. The attacks are not exclusively on males - females are also sometimes pushed or shoved away from feeding sites.
This subspecies of rose chafer beetles, which belong to the Scarabaeidae family, is widespread in the rainforest regions of south-east Africa from Kenya via Tanzania, Zambia and Namibia to Zimbabwe and South Africa.