Mediterranean Spotted Chafer

It’s taken me a while to identify this beetle I saw in Italy this summer. It really shouldn’t have taken me this long. It’s a Mediterranean Spotted Chafer Oxythyrea funesta on vibrant pink Valerian:

Mediterranean Spotted Chafer - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)


It’s a Chafer; it’s spotted; and I’m in a Mediterranean country, Italy. Mediterranean Spotted Chafer. How difficult should that have been?

It also reminds me that I really must get a proper macro lens, as they are so much more magnificent and surprising the closer you get.

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