May beetle: this insect eats?

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These large, noisy beetles emerge in May, hence the name.However, under certain climatic conditions, you can see them in April and in June.Where does chafer that eats and where he lives - the most common questions among children who like to arrange a hunt for them.Their curiosity is understandable, because the number of insects that changes every year, so the kiddies need to somehow explain it.

It is because of where the chafer lives, eats, and of the possible harm that he is able to reason, he is considered the most dangerous threat.To learn how to deal with it productively, spent huge amounts of time.Females of these insects fly an average of a week later than the males, with a air of life, they begin immediately after underground.

This chafer that eats indiscriminately leaves of young trees can inflict enormous damage to forests.No less dangerous it is for orchards, and many vacationers every year dreaded invasion of beetles (as they are called).In order to reduce the number of pests in the seventies of the last century was an attempt to create a sterilized males: they are irradiated, and then released into the wild.As a result of mating with an instance, the female could not produce offspring, which greatly reduced the population.But, unfortunately, for a short time, this would have to have a constant presence in the party of new species, so the experiment is not crowned uspehom.Hruschi able to travel long distances.May beetle that eats the leaves of the young, in their search can fly about 20 kilometers a day.Given this mobility and a sufficiently large number of individuals that appear every year, you can only try to imagine the size of a possible disaster.But their distinguishing feature is the fact that, wherever they flew, are always eager to go back to that place, where appeared on the surface of the earth - to bring down the beetles with a guide is not possible.

From that eating cockchafers, often depends on their resettlement and selection of habitat, although they prefer to settle in young pine forests.There the soil is very soft, which creates favorable conditions for egg-laying female.After the reproductive roles performed, the current generation disappears, giving way to their offspring.It appears in about 4-6 weeks after the eggs have been postponed - it is the first exit lichinok.Razvivayutsya juveniles for 4 years.What eats the May beetle larvae, yet mature?At first, she eats the grass roots and shrubs that are close, closer to winter hiding deep in the soil.In the spring the larvae rise to the surface again and continue to eat into the food roots, but larger, pine they like the most.This goes on for three years, last winter they hide deeper than usual and become pupae, which are expected in the spring.With the arrival of her young chafer creeps on the underground passage to the surface and takes off on young trees to eat after a long winter.