Help me identify a beetle

[snakechic]

the past few days I have had several beetles in my garden on the grass and flying just above. Each day there are more and more and today even the cat won't venture on the grass as there are so many. It looks like they are breeding.

Each beetle is about 1 to 1.5 cm, , metalic brown body (squarish in shape) and wings with a metalic green head. I have never seen these before in my garden untill 3 days ago and they seem to double in numbers each day!

Anybody know what these could be and why they have suddenly appeared?

[Fauna]

Hi snakechic....welcome to wab.

Try Phyllopertha horticola (The Garden Chafer) see if it is these, i've just had these flying around no more than 30 mins ago.

Regards Chris...

[snakechic]

Thank you Chris,

This does look very much like the beetles I have but not sure if the thorax is the same shape. The ones in the garden look slightly round but difficult to get near to them as there are so many. They dissappear by lunch time, seem to be breeding?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by snakechic

Thank you Chris,

This does look very much like the beetles I have but not sure if the thorax is the same shape. The ones in the garden look slightly round but difficult to get near to them as there are so many. They dissappear by lunch time, seem to be breeding?

Garden chafers have been feeding on grass roots in the ground for a year or so and now the imagines (adults) are emerging to mate and start the process all over again!
There are other chafers - worth doing an image search for Scrabaeidae - good sites are:
The Coleopterist
and
Coleoptera - photo gallery beetles - Fotogalerie Kfer (more pictures but many of them not British)