White spotted rose beetle on Spanish broom (Eygalieres, Provence, France).
We encountered this scarab species on a variety of plants throughout our travels in France. Its distribution includes Italy, France, Malta, Morocco, Asia Minor and parts of the Middle East. It is not a particularly important species economically, though they can significantly impact grape vines and flowering wheat.
Source: Insectes de France. Michael Chinery http://www.amazon.fr/Insectes-dEurope-occidentale-Michael-Chinery/dp/2082013758/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276609225&sr=8-1
Plant Health – Pest and Diseases Image Library: White-spotted Rose Beetle, (PaDIL) http://flyaqis.mov.vic.gov.au/padil/O_funesta.htm
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[...] Chafer in the genus Oxythyrea. A photo of a White Spotted Rose Beetle, Oxythyrea funesta, on the Things Biological website matches nicely and the site indicates: “Its distribution includes Italy, France, Malta, [...]