#chafers

as a chafer, Protaetia oblonga is part of a group of indulgent little animals famous for having their faces buried in food all day, and shouldn't be expected to break this routine. even so, this decadent dangler took it a step further by straight winnie the poohing it on this thistle

This is one of my favorite plants, grape hyacinth (Muscari sp.)

And it grew right next to the oriental hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis). Both of them are native here and they sometimes sillily grow in random grass:

There was also fumaria, such beautiful little flowers:

And Senecio vulgaris, the plant named after Seneca, with a little ladybug:

Also, here’s a little fluffy friend (Holochelus sp.)! He fell on the street, so I moved him to the grass:

i have an impressive backlog of beetle observations that im proud of... but i havent submitted most of them. im unsure what kinda beetles people wanna see... comment or dm me anything you wanna see and ill look through my collection!

during the summertime... those of yall who leave your windows open might see these june bugs in your home... theyre those shiny little beetles that fly into your room at night and start banging into the lights repeatedly. thud... thud... thud...

here's one that many of you mightve seen before... the brown leaf chafer (Anomala obsoleta). a very common and urban species. i wanna showcase these photos because take a closer look at this normally unremarkable beetle...

A copper chafer (Protaetia metallica) in the Netherlands

Tropinota squalida is a very hairy chafer that looks like you took a much more standard chafer and glued a bunch of hairs to it to create a bad lion costume. i only ever see one or two of these guys a year but they're always a welcome sight, they're not very large but they are conspicuous (the best trait a bug can have)

Acacia trees are extremely invasive where i live, and i kind of subconsciously resent seeing their large, fluffy flower clusters. at the same time, i like to imagine sheer childlike joy radiating from this Oxythyrea funesta as it encounters a seemingly limitless pollen heaven at a time when most native flowers are still nowhere to be found

i make fun of every single Tropinota squalida i find for looking like a haggard old man awkwardly stumbling around on a drunken quest for more pollen, but they usually have yellow/orangeish hairs, while this white-haired one completes the look. i feel like i can smell beer and motor oil on it