Everything You Need To Know About May Beetles

May beetles, often called June bugs, make their first appearance above ground as adults in late spring. Their unique lifestyle involves existing underground for the first few years of their life before burrowing upward to check out the environment. But these adult beetles are shy, and return to their underground oasis for another year of feasting on roots. They work up the nerve to stay above ground the following spring to mate and lay eggs.

These nocturnal, reddish-brown beetles belong to the large scarabaeidae family and the coleoptera order.

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May beetles (June bugs). Missouri Department of Conservation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2022, from https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/may-beetles-june-bugs