Can you identify this giant beetle?
By WildCall Officer Andy Fry
I was asked to identify a giant beetle which flew into someone's window. This was my answer:
This is a Cockchafer, also known as a May Bug because most adults emerge this month, and they can grow to a length of 3cm. These adults have spent the past three years living underground as creamy-white grubs, munching on the roots of grasses and cereals, and are now finally working their way to the surface to take flight. Used to a life in the dark, the adults fly at night and are attracted to light, frequently crashing into lit windows or careering into our homes. They’re loud as well as clumsy, making a humming buzz as they bumble about, looking for love. They only live for six to eight weeks, and their sole mission is to reproduce. Their impressive, feathery antennae are used to pick up the pheromones (chemical signals) released by potential mates, and you can tell the sexes apart by counting the “leaves” - males have seven on their antennae, whereas females only have six. They may look and sound a bit scary but they are gentle giants and completely harmless.
Did you know?
- The name is thought to derive from ‘cock’ meaning familiar, as in ‘cock sparrow’, and a ‘chafer’ is a gnawing beetle in the same family as the infamous Egyptian scarab.
- Other nicknames include Spang Beetle, Billy Witch, Dumbledarey, Mitchamador and Bummler.
- The Latin name is Melolontha melolontha
- Crows and other corvids love to snack on juicy Cockchafer grubs, which are also known as rookworms.
- Cockchafers do not sting or bite – females have a sharp looking point on the tip of their abdomen but this is not a stinger, it is used to deposit her eggs into the soil
Comments
I found this piece about the cockchafers absolutely fascinating. Love hearing the traditional names for things
04 May 2023 09:44:00
Thank you for informing me about this creature. I see them round my house at this time of year and always wondered what ‘their story is’. More please. Why aren’t children taught this stuff in schools instead of quadratic equations they’ll never used? Crazy.
11 May 2023 10:54:00
What an amazing video. To see cockchafers in close-up, with accompanying info on them, and entomology is impressive. Congratulations on the piece.
11 May 2023 11:12:00
Fascinating article. As a child in Switzerland I used to see masses of them in the countryside and littering the roads. I have lived here in the south of England for over 20 years and I have never seen a single one.
11 May 2023 11:16:00
I would like to see what the creamy grub looks like
11 May 2023 11:24:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
We have updated the blog with a photo of the grub
I was just thinking that I hadn’t seen any May bugs for a couple of years and was thinking they are probably in decline like so much of our wildlife.
Are they, do you know?
11 May 2023 11:34:00
Thank you for this. We had some in our moth trap so I’m pleased to hear they are not harmful and know more about them. Also explains what those white larvae we find in the soil are!
11 May 2023 11:35:00
It would be helpful to know how large the grub is, so I know how they compare with vine weevil grubs!
11 May 2023 11:36:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Cockchafer grubs are about 4 to 5 cm in length
I saw a Maybug a few years ago and had the privilege of being to inspect it very close up. My initial reaction was ‘ugh! How ugly’ but the more I looked, the cuter it became and I realised that it is unusual but not ugly. I’d love to see another this year.
11 May 2023 13:53:00
Thanks for this fascinating article about the fabulous May bugs. When I was young one flew into me when I was riding my bike and I thought someone had thrown a potato at me! Hopefully it was alright. Brilliant creatures and a privilege to see them.
11 May 2023 14:28:00
I saw a Maybug a few years ago and had the privilege of being to inspect it very close up. My initial reaction was ‘ugh! How ugly’ but the more I looked, the cuter it became and I realised that it is unusual but not ugly. I’d love to see another this year.
11 May 2023 15:06:00
The young foxes go crazy for them, snapping them up as they emerge and leaping to snatch them from the air
11 May 2023 15:40:00
Went out for an evening walk on Southwick Hill last year and there were hundreds of them flying around! They were everywhere. We used to call them billywitches where I grew up in Suffolk.
11 May 2023 16:09:00
I have recently found two of these beetles in my garden and I am really pleased to find out at last what they are—- and those grubs which look so horrid! However, I did not notice the big eyelashes! But now you’ve explained, I understand why they staggered about so cluelessly when I turned over the soil.
11 May 2023 17:42:00
Very interesting and love the various names. Thank you.
12 May 2023 06:05:00
Fascinating information. I can’t say I’ve ever seen one but will certainly be looking out for them now. What a shame they only live such a short time. Please keep these interesting facts coming in about our nature.
12 May 2023 07:04:00
Thank you for your great e mail info.
12 May 2023 09:37:00
Used to see them a lot years ago. When we lived in Ontario they called them June bugs.
12 May 2023 16:07:00
Endearingly strange in appearance. What a list of names have accrued over the ages.
12 May 2023 17:13:00
Fascinating article and video! Thankyou.
14 May 2023 08:21:00
I saw one of these beetles, Cockchaffer, this morning near the South pond.
Yesterday they were doing some tidying up work around the pond so maybe it was disturbed. It was quite chilly this morning too.
I picked it up and moved to a grassy area near the pond. I hope I did the right thing.
14 May 2023 19:21:00
Very interesting.
16 May 2023 13:54:00
Fascinating article and video! Thankyou.
16 May 2023 15:52:00
I was born in Southern Germany where I used to see then yearly in great quantities. Children were paid a penny for each one we caught and they were used for chicken food! I now live in East Sussex and only see the occasional one at the end of May
17 May 2023 07:59:00
Really interesting, I shall look out for them when I am walking.
20 May 2023 11:10:00
Absolutely loved this article and film. Thank you. They’re very appealing little things. I’ve never seen one but will keep an eye out!
24 May 2023 20:18:00
Excellent film – before I was always a bit nervous of these may flies, but no more thanks to you. much appreciated.
25 May 2023 17:32:00
Amazing film, they look like such little cuties. I am not scared of these anymore
11 Oct 2023 07:18:22
Two of these beetles flew into the kitchen late last night, rather alarmed until I looked up what they were! Hubby was convinced that they were stingers! Very relieved to find out they aren’t!
10 May 2026 14:19:00
Two of these beetles flew into the kitchen late last night, rather alarmed until I looked up what they were! Hubby was convinced that they were stingers! Very relieved to find out they aren’t!
10 May 2026 20:14:00
I saw this beetle in my garden today in Wigan, Lancashire.
25 May 2026 19:31:00