June beetle (Polyphylla fullo)

Pictures :  Adult

Description

Adult: 32-40 mm, elongated, convex, fawn to dark brown elytra, bearing white irregular spots. Antenna well-developed, lamellated, particularly in the male. Larva: 60-80 mm long, similar to that of the common cockchafer ( Melolantha melolantha) , body whitish, curved into an arc; extremity of the the abdomen   blackish. Head large, bearing strong mandibles; thoracic legs yellow, elongated, slender and hairy. Fine bristles, quite short on the pygidium with 2 parallel series of 7-8 short spines in the anal region.  

Biology and Damage     

Adult flies 1 hour after sunset and remains motionless during the day. It mates on the branches. The female deposit her eggs in the sandy soil neighbouring the trees. Average fecundity: 30 eggs. Eggs development lasts 1 month. Larva develops in the ground and gnaws roots. It overwinters in the ground.It pupate in the ground in a small cell. Pupation lasts 1 month. The larva overwinters 3 times in the ground then pupates in May of third year; the adult appears from mid-June to mid-July, feeds then lays eggs. The adults are harmless to the crop; the larva attack the roots of hazelnut.                                

Common Names

DE: Müller, Walker,  ES: Gusano blanco de los pinos,  FR: Hanneton des pins, Hanneton foulon,  IT: Maggiolino marmoreggiato,  GB: Pine chafer,  TR: Haziran böceði