The May beetle (Khrushch) is an insect belonging to the Coleoptera order, the genus of beetles, the lamellar family. This genus is quite numerous, it includes about 40 species. One of the species, namely the eastern May beetle, is especially common in our country.
This is a large beetle. The length of the convex-oval body is 2-3.5 cm. It is covered with a chitinous shell that serves as protection. The color can be red-red (such individuals prefer open places) or black (these live in shaded areas).
The body, head and pronotum of the beetle are covered with hair-like scales of different lengths. On the head are antennae, ending in a fan-shaped dissection. The cockchafer has three pairs of walking legs, covered with hairs and ending in claws, thanks to which it is able to hold on to foliage and tree bark. The front legs are much stronger than the other two pairs, because they dig holes before laying eggs. Despite the fact that the beetle has elytra and flying wings, it flies with difficulty, slowly.
Oriented in space due to a well-developed sensory systemChafer. Khrushchev can see everything around thanks to complex eyes, consisting of thousands of simple eyes, located on both sides
heads. With antennae, the beetle searches for food, in search of which it is able to fly almost a kilometer. The May beetle feeds on plant foods thanks to the gnawing type of mouth apparatus. The palps (oral appendages) are responsible for food selection. With them, the beetle feels food and puts it in its mouth.
May beetles are dioecious insects. Males die after mating. Females burrow into the soil to a depth of 30 cm and lay eggs in heaps (20-30 eggs each). After laying eggs, the females also die. After a month and a half, larvae emerge from the eggs. They are off-white, fleshy, with legs, mobile. Head with antennae, jaws, but no eyes.
The larvae develop in the ground for 3-4 years, passing through several molts. In the first year they feed on plant residues, and in 2-3 years they feed on plant roots. In the last summer of life in the soil, the larva turns into a pupa. The insect at this stage already looks like an adult beetle. However, it does not increase in size and does not move,
its wings are short, the color is white. At this time, under hormonal influence, eyes, limbs are formed, wings grow. By the beginning of autumn, the May Khrushchev is already full-fledged, but the exit from the ground is postponed until spring.
Mass summer falls on May, it coincides with the budding of oak and birch leaves. On a warm spring day, carefully looking at the ground, you can see creepingfrom the soil after wintering beetles. And in the evening, standing near a flowering tree, you can hear their buzzing and see the flights. May beetle damages flowers and young leaves of plants, causing great harm.
It is necessary to fight both with adults and with their larvae. In small areas, they can be shaken from trees, picked by hand, destroyed, or used for bait when fishing. Larvae also need to be destroyed or collected for the same purpose while digging the soil.
