Violin Beetle vs Japanese Rose Chafer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Violin Beetle Japanese Rose Chafer
Scientific Name Mormolyce phyllodes Cetonia pilifera
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Scarabaeidae
Size 80-100 mm 18-25 mm
Habitat Forests Orchards
Diet Fungus Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Asia East Asia, Japan
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Violin Beetle

An extraordinarily flat beetle shaped like a violin. Its paper-thin body allows it to squeeze between bracket fungi and under bark. Found in Southeast Asian rainforests.

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Did You Know?

The violin beetle is so flat it can slide between layers of bracket fungus like a playing card — its body is one of the most extremely flattened of any insect.

Japanese Rose Chafer

A metallic green flower beetle common in Japan, known as 'shirosujikogane.' Found on flowers and tree sap during summer months. Has a distinctive buzzy flight pattern.

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Did You Know?

Unlike most beetles that lift their wing covers to fly, flower chafers can fly with their elytra closed by extending their wings through a gap on the sides.