May beetleappears in large numbers among trees on warm spring evenings. It is a common pest of fruit and ornamental trees as well as vegetable, strawberry and lawn crops. Adult cockchafers and their larvae, called grubs, are very voracious, which causes large losses in crops. Make surewhat the May bug looks likeand its larvae (grubs), the description of the pest and photos will help you, and learnhow to fight the May bug and grub to save your garden before it's too late!
May beetle - an adult specimen. Photo pixabay.com
May beetle - description
What does the May bug look like?
May beetle(Melolontha melolontha) is a beetle (Coleoptera), belonging to the beetle family (Scarabaeidae). Adult specimens reach a size of 20-30 mm. Their body is oval, black in color, on the dorsal side covered with brown-brown, slightly mossy covers of the first pair of wings.On the head of the May beetle there is a pair of antennae with a characteristic fan shape
May beetle on the lawn
Fig. pixabay.com
May beetle with clearly visible foreheads
Fig. pixabay.com
The greatest threat to crops areMay beetle larvae, i.e. grubs . They are white-yellow, thick and bow-shaped. Their body can grow up to 6 cm in length. Adults and grubs hibernate deep in the ground (at a depth of 1 m).
Pędraki, i.e. larvae of the May cockchafer
Fig. © Agnieszka Lach
grubs in the grass
Harmfulness of the May beetle in the garden
Adult beetles emerge on the ground in April or MayThey start to bite during this time young leaves of trees. With a very strong invasion, it can even lead tostripping whole trees from leaves(pigeon eaters).
In turn,May beetle larvae feed in the soil, nibbling at plant roots , leading to various damages, such as:
- falling out of seedlings
- wilt and dieback of emerging plants
- deep feedings in carrot, beetroot and potato tubers
- damage to the roots of fruit trees, which leads to drying of individual branches, and sometimes whole treesin spring and summer nibbling the roots of the grass, leading to wilt and dying of the grassland
In gardens, the May beetle causes the greatest damageon deciduous trees (oak, poplar, aspen), on fruit plants (strawberries, cherries, apple trees, plums, raspberries, blueberries) and some vegetables.
May beetle life cycle
The May bug development cycle is long, it lasts up to 4-5 years. In spring (April-May), adult specimens leave their hibernation sites and fly to nearby trees. Among the tree crownsyou can observe clouds of flying beetlesThis is called a swarm and it lasts 6 weeks. Fertilized females bury themselves in the ground where they lay their eggs. After 6 weeks, larvae emerge from the eggs, which initially feed shallowly in the ground, feeding on decaying plant debris.In the second year of life, the larvae feed in the root zone of plants , nibbling on their roots. They are most voracious in their third year of development, especially in May and June.At this time, they do the most damage. The grubs are four years old until pupation. In August the fourth year, adult beetlesemerge from the pupaeand remain dormant in the soil until spring. Roses intensify every 4 years, but beetles from different years swarm every year.
May beetle - an adult specimen. Photo pixabay.com
Does the May bug bite people?Some gardeners are also afraid of being bitten by the May bug. These fears have some justification, because this beetle can be very burdensome for humans - it gets tangled in the hair, makes an unpleasant sound and flies insistently around us. Fortunately, he only likes plant leaves and people don't have to be afraid of his bites: -)
Fighting the May beetle
Effective control of the May bugis based on the control of both adult individuals and larvae living in the soil.
Note!
Already one cockchafer larva (grub) per 2 m² of garden area (orchard, vegetable garden or, for example, lawn) is considered a threat threshold informing about the need to combat grubs living in the ground.
Due to the limited amount of preparationspreparations to combat cockchafers , the most important role in the fight against these pests is played byagrotechnical methods .
1. Shaking beetles off trees and shrubs
In spring, during the departure, adult beetles are planted on the branches of nearby trees.In the early morning, when the insects feel numb from the cold of the night, shake them off the twigs . Earlier, under the trees, we spread sheets from which you can easily collect shaken insects.
2. Deep plowing and sowing buckwheat
The grubs are abundant in wasteland soils. If we have bought a plot of land in such an area, it should be plowed deeply several times. Recovered grubs are not able to bury themselves in the ground again and become an easy target for birdsBefore planting and sowing the first plants, it is worth sowing buckwheat in the plowed area in the first year. It contains tannins that adversely affect the development of grubs.
3. Use of insecticides
For growing vegetables from sowing and for setting up lawns, seeds treated with insecticides should be used.The beetles feeding in high treetops are also controlledwith the use of chemicals, such as Karate Zeon 050 CS or Mospilan 20 SP. However, one should remember about the harmfulness of such spraying also for beneficial insects. The effectiveness of chemical sprays is limited as they do not fight the larvae feeding in the soil, but only adult beetles feeding in the treetops.
Therefore, in addition, it is worth using a highly effective soil preparationP-DRAKOL grub It contains beneficial bacteria that create an environment unfavorable for the development of grubs, i.e. beetle larvae. As a result of the use of this preparation, the number of grubs is very limited, usually to such an extent that their harmfulness ceases to be noticeable. The high efficiency of P-DRAKOL, combined with the reasonable price, make it thebest choice for gardeners fighting with the May bug larvaefeeding in the ground.
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
