#snartlegog

[bugs-in-the-meadow]

I was getting a late night snack when I heard something bump into the door, and when I went out to check I found this little maybug stuck on his back. I helped him up and he flew in, so I took a few pictures before taking him out to find a bush. I've never held one before, eat least not an alive one (I've collected a few dead ones over the years), and was surprised by how clingy and scratchy their feet are.

Maybugs, Melolontha melolontha, are also known as cockchafer beetles. They have several other names too, my favourite of which is snartlegog. A delight.

This one is most likely a common maybug, and I think it's a male. Males have seven lamellae - the leaf-like parts on the tip of their antenna - on each side, while females only have six. Females also have a notably pointier part on the end of their abdomen, which is the ovipositor, for laying eggs.

Maybugs apparently spend up to 5 years underground as grubs, and once they emerge, in the summer months, they only last for around six more weeks. They're often seen at night, flying around rather haphazardly, and while they're quite loud and can be surprising, they're not harmful (unless you're grass).

Sources & more info:

Maybug - Buglife Blog - Buglife

Find out more about Maybug in the Buglife blog.

An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information.

[aswarmofbisexualbees]

Important question

What do you call this bug?

Cockchafer

Bummler

Cob-worm

Kittywitch

Midsummer dor

Oak-wib

Snartlegog

Spang beetle

Billy witch

May-bittle

Humbuz

OP, you forgot about....

Voting ended onMar 30, 2024