Chafer beetle (Khrushchev) is an insect belonging to the order of beetles, the genus of beetles, the family of lamellae. This genus is quite numerous, it includes about 40 species. One of the species, namely the eastern May Khrushchev, is especially common in our country.
This is a large bug. The length of the convex oval body is 2-3.5 cm. It is covered with a chitinous carapace that serves as a defense. The color can be red-red (such individuals prefer open areas) or black (these live in shaded areas).
The body, head and pronotum of the beetle are covered with hairy scales of different lengths. On the head there are antennae ending in a fan-shaped dismemberment. May Khrushchev has three pairs of walking legs, covered with hairs and ending in claws, thanks to which it is able to hold on to the foliage and bark of trees. The front legs are much stronger than the other two pairs, because they dig bugs 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 system of sensory organs, the chafer. Khrushchev can survey everything thanks to complex eyes made up of thousands of simple peepholes located on both sides
heads. The antennae of a beetle searches for food, in search of which it can fly almost a kilometer. May horsetail feeds on plant foods thanks to a gnawing mouthpart. Palps (oral appendages) are responsible for the choice of food. They feel the food and feed it into the mouth.
May bugs - dioecious insects. Males die after mating. Females burrow into the soil to a depth of 30 cm and lay eggs in heaps (20-30 pieces in each). Having laid eggs, the females also die. After a month and a half, larvae emerge from the eggs. They are dirty white, fleshy, with legs, mobile. Head with antennae, jaws, but without eyes.
Larvae develop in the ground for 3-4 years, passing several molts. In the first year they feed on plant debris, and in 2-3 years they eat plant roots. In the last summer of life in the soil, the larva turns into a chrysalis. The insect at this stage already looks like an adult bug. However, it does not increase in size and does not move,
its wings are short, white. At this time, with hormonal exposure, eyes, limbs form, wings grow. By the beginning of autumn, May Khrushchev is already full, but the way out of the land is delayed until spring.
Mass years fall in May; it coincides with the blooming of oak buds and birch leaves. On a warm spring day, looking closely at the ground, you can see beetles crawling out of the soil after wintering. And in the evening, standing near a flowering tree, you can hear their buzzing and see the flights. May chafer damages flowers and young leaves of plants, causing great harm.
It is necessary to fight with adults and with their larvae. In small areas, they can be shaken off from trees, hand-picked, destroyed or used for bait when fishing. Larvae also need to be destroyed or collected for the same purpose while digging the soil.
