Cockchafer or ‘Maybug’ (Latin name – Melolontha melolontha)
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Chafer Bug larvae can cause devastating damage to young vegetable
plants. Chafer Grub larvae are white grubs with a brown head, and
distinct pairs of legs at the front end.
The Chafer Grub are 2cm beetles which hatch into flying adults in
mid-May. The adult beetle is a night-flier and often comes crashing into
lighted windows on warm evenings in early summer, making a buzzing
sound. Chafer Grub adults lay eggs in June which turn into more Chafer
Grubs in July to eat roots until October. Then Chafer Grubs dig deeper
into the soil to over winter until May before Chafer Grub surface to
fly, mate and lay eggs. Chafer grubs may feed below ground for 3-4 years
before changing into adult beetles.
Adult chafers eat the leaves and flowers of many plants, but rarely
cause any serious damage in the UK.
The fat, white grubs (reaching 40-45 mm long when full grown) live in
the soil and feed on plant roots, especially lawns, and are occasional
pests in vegetable gardens
