Common cockchafer

Melolontha melolontha · The common cockchafer, also called the Maybug, is a scarab beetle native to Europe.

Also called Maybug, May bug, Cockchafer maybeetle, Doodlebug.

Common cockchafer
Photo: Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY 2.0
Common cockchafer
Photo: Nepran Vyacheslav, CC BY-SA 4.0
Common cockchafer
Photo: nick goodrum from Catfield in Norfolk, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderColeoptera
FamilyScarabaeidae
GenusMelolontha
SpeciesMelolontha melolontha

Where it lives

Farmland, parks and woodland edges across Europe.

Fun facts

  • Male cockchafers have seven flattened, leaflike extensions on their antennae, while females have only six.
  • Males find females by sniffing out the green leaf scents released when females chew leaves.
  • Cockchafer grubs spend three to four years underground, so adults appear in a cycle of three or four years.
  • A hungry cockchafer grub can gnaw plant roots for 30 cm each day, which quickly kills the plant.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).