These large, noisy bugs appear in May, where the name comes from. But under certain climatic conditions they can be seen in April and June. Where does the May beetle come from, what does it eat and where does it live - the most common questions for children who love to hunt them. Their curiosity is understandable, because the number of insects changes every year, so the children need to somehow explain this.
It is because of where the May bug lives, what it eats, and the possible harm that it can cause, it is considered the most dangerous pest. In order to learn how to deal with it productively, a huge amount of time has been spent. Females of these insects fly out on average a week later than males, and they begin air life immediately after the underground.
This May bug, which eats indiscriminately the leaves of young trees, can cause enormous damage to forests. It is no less dangerous for orchards, and many summer residents every year with horror await the invasion of the Khrushchev (as they are also called). In order to reduce the number of pests, in the seventies of the last century there was an attempt to create sterilized males: they were irradiated, and then released into the wild. As a result of mating with such an instance, the female could not produce offspring, which significantly reduced the population. But, unfortunately, not for long, for this it was necessary to have a permanent batch of new individuals, so the experiment was unsuccessful.
Khrushchev can travel long distances. The
chafer, which eats young leaves, can fly about 20 kilometers a day in their search. Given such mobility and a sufficiently large number of individuals appearing every year, we can only try to imagine the size of a possible disaster. But their distinctive feature is that, wherever they fly, they always strive to return to the place where they appeared on the surface of the earth - it is impossible to bring down beetles from a landmark.
The fact that the May beetles eat most often determines their resettlement and the choice of habitats, although they like to settle more in young pine forests. There, the soil is very soft, which creates favorable conditions for laying eggs by the female. After the reproductive role is fulfilled, the current generation disappears, giving way to its offspring. It appears approximately 4-6 weeks after the eggs have been laid - this is the first exit of the larvae.
Young individuals develop over 4 years. What does the Maybug
larva eat while it matures? Initially, it feeds on the roots of grass and shrubs that are nearby, closer to winter, hiding deep in the soil. In spring, the larvae again rise to the surface and continue to eat roots, but they already like the larger, pine ones most of all. This goes on for three years, in the last winter they hide deeper than usual and become pupae that expect spring. With her arrival, a young May beetle crawls to the surface through an underground passage and flies up to young trees to refresh itself after a long winter.