M. melolontha adults are predated by ground beetles and ants. Larvae are predated by click beetles while underground. Starlings, crows, and gulls also predate M. melolontha larvae, often after a field has been plowed. [6]

Larval Stage: The larvae, also known as "white grubs" or "chafer grubs," spend three to five years underground, feeding on plant roots, such as potato roots. Growth and Development: Throughout their larval stage, the grubs continuously grow, reaching a size of about 4-5 cm.

Larvae: are large yellow-white grubs with light brown heads. What do cockchafer beetles eat? Adults: eat flowers and leaves, rarely to a destructive level in the UK. Larvae: are considered an agricultural pest when in large numbers, as they feed on vegetable and grass roots. How do cockchafer beetles breed?

Cockchafer, (Melolontha melolontha), a large European beetle that is destructive to foliage, flowers, and fruit as an adult and to plant roots as a larva. In the British Isles, the name “cockchafer” refers more broadly to any of the beetles in …

Nov 17, 2021 · The herbicides 2,4-D and MCPA were applied against dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), an important food source for larvae of M. melolontha, in trials during 1977 in Germany. Treatment was 85% effective for a period of 5 months and led to an important reduction in the numbers of larvae.

When just laid, the oval eggs of the common cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) are 2 x 3 mm, but they increase in size by absorbing water. The larvae (grubs) have a whitish curved body, large head, with strong mandibles and long, hairy, well developed yellow legs.

Physicochemical gut conditions and the composition and topology of the intestinal microbiota in the major gut compartments of the root-feeding larva of the European cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) were studied.

The Common cockchafer (or May-bug or May-beetle), Melolontha melolontha, is a common large beetle which often crashes into lighted windows, at night during May. The larvae (so-called grubs) are fat and white and have a curved body shape and live in …

Larvae gnaw at small roots of field plants, and are indiscriminate feeders; they eat grain, grass, tree, and beet roots, moving as much as 30 cm a day while eating large sections of crop rootlets. Cockchafer larvae feed on new, fresh soil roots and do not usually eat decaying organic matter.

Melolonthinae are the largest subfamily of Scarabaeidae, considered as serious pests for their larvae attacking plant roots and tubers. The edaphic larvae are difficult to be identified because the study on larval taxonomy is far from satisfactory.