ˈrose-ˌchafer Ent.
Also 8 chaffer.
[f. rose n. + chafer1.]
A beetle of the genus Cetonia (esp. C. aurata), of a burnished green or copper colour, frequenting roses and in the grub-state very destructive to vegetation; the rose-fly.
| 1704 Petiver Gazophyl. iii. §23 Scarabæus pectinarius viridis,..the Rose Chaffer. 1817 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxiii. (1818) II. 321 Those enemies of vegetable beauty the rose-chafers (Cetonia aurata). 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 779 The Cetonia aurata, Green rosechafer, is found on the flowers of the turnip plant. 1899 D. Sharp Insects 200 In Britain we have only four kinds of Cetoniides; they are called Rose-chafers. |