Anomala dubia

Dune chafer

Anomala dubia varies in appearance, its elytra can range in color from brown to brownish-green to nearly black.

Suborder or family: Scarabs (Scarabaeidae)

Distribution: Africa, Asia, Europe

Habitats: It can be found along the edges of bushes, on embankments, in parks, and in gardens, and may also be found on urban trees.

Size: The beetles grow to between 12 and 15 millimeters in length.

Live span: The development from larva to adult takes two years. In Central Europe, the adults can be seen from May through August.

Food: The larvae feed on roots, while the adults feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs.

The story behind these images:

At the beginning of June I witnessed an unexpected turn of events on my balcony. A spider attempted to capture the significantly larger Dune Chafer.

The beetle seemed a bit disoriented to me whether due to the spider’s venom or because it had previously flown into the balcony door I don’t know.

From what I could tell the spider tried to immobilize the beetle with its silk threads. At first it succeeded quite well and for a while it looked like the spider had won. So I stopped filming to let it enjoy its protein-rich meal in peace.

However the Dune Chafer managed to free itself. A little later I found it lying motionless on its back. So I decided to arrange it nicely take some photos and then dispose of it in one of the balcony planters.

After the first shot though I realized that a beetle on a cutting board doesn’t look very aesthetic. So I placed it on some soil instead.

The Dune Chafer presumably believing it was back in its natural habitat immediately started digging itself into the soil only to play dead again afterward.

A few hours later as dusk set in it suddenly showed surprising signs of life and attempted to fly away. So I released it on the balcony into the wild of course at a safe distance from the spider’s web.