The 25-30mm long Common cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha, may be observed at the end of April or in May (hence their alternative name ‘Maybug’). Adults live for about six weeks feeding on flowers and leaves. After mating, the female lays eggs which she buries deep in the soil – usually in fields and gardens. Larvae hatch in about six weeks and feed on plant roots where their presence in large numbers may achieve pest status. Cockchafers remain in this larval stage for 3-4 years before pupating in early autumn.
Adult cockchafers are attracted to light and may enter lit buildings through open windows and, with their clumsy flight, be heard bumping into objects. Like most beetles, they have two pairs of wings, but the rigid, hardened forewings (known as elytra) protect the membranous second pair of wings which are used for flight. The forewings are closed flat over the body when the beetle is at rest.
