Sierra Acai Company
Sierra Acai Company
Open 7 Days a Week
MonaVie Independent Distributor
Distributor Training
Shop Online
Enroll Now
Buy Wholesale and maintain an Active status for 2 months and we will refund your $39 Distributor Fee
Friends
Buy Wholesale and maintain an Active status for 2 months and we will refund your $39 Distributor Fee
14-September-2008 18:38:45 - Cockchafer Cockchafer Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Family: Scarabaeidae Genus: Melolontha Species M. melolontha Linnaeus, 1758 M. hippocastani Fabricius, 1801 M. pectoralis Germar, 1824 The cockchafer or may bug, as it is colloquially called, or sometimes billy witch or spang beetle, particularly in East Anglia is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the family Scarabaeidae. Once abundant throughout Europe and a major pest in the periodical years of mass flight, it has been decimated in the middle of the 20th century through extensive use of pesticides and has even been locally exterminated in many regions. However, since a change in pest control beginning in the 1980s, its numbers have started to grow again. As they don't tolerate pollution well, their presence is usually a marker of low pollution levels. Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Life cycle 4 Pest control and history 5 Cultural references 6 References 7 External links Taxonomy There are three species of European cockchafers: The common cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha The forest cockchafer, Melolontha hippocastani The large cockchafer, Melolontha pectoralis, which is very rare and occurs only in south-western Germany. Description Imagines i.e., adults of the common cockchafer reach sizes of 25-30 mm, the forest cockchafer is a bit smaller 20-25 mm. The two species can best be distinguished by the form of their pygidium the back end: it is long and slender in the common cockchafer, but shorter and knob-shaped at the end in the forest cockchafer. Both have a brown colour. Close up of a male cockchafer, showing the seven leaves on the antennae. Close up of a male cockchafer, showing the seven leaves on the antennae. Male cockchafers have seven leaves on their antennae, whereas the females have only six. The species M. pectoralis looks similar, but its pygidium is rounded. The cockchafer should not be confused with the similar European chafer Rhizotrogus majalis, which has a completely different life cycle, nor with the June beetles Phyllophaga spp., which are native to North America, nor with the summer chafer or European June bug, Amphimallon solstitiale, which emerges in June and has a two-year life cycle. All of these are Scarabaeidae, have white grubs, and are turf pests. Life cycle A female cockchafer A female cockchafer Adults appear at the end of April or in May and live only for about five to seven weeks. After about two weeks, the female begins laying eggs, which she buries about 10 to 20 cm deep in the earth. She may do this several times until she has laid between 60 and 80 eggs. The common cockchafer lays its eggs in fields, whereas the Forest Cockchafer stays in the vicinity of the trees. The preferred food for adults is oak leaves, but they will also feed on conifer needles. The larvae, known as white grubs or chafer grubs, hatch after some four to six weeks. They feed on plant roots, for instance potato roots. The grubs develop in the earth for some three to four years, in colder climates even five years, and grow continually to a size of about 4-5 cm, before they pupate in early autumn and develop into a cockchafer in some six weeks. The cockchafer overwinters in the earth at depths between 20 and 100 cm. They work their way to the surface only in spring. Because of their long development time as larvae, cockchafers appear in a cycle of every three or four years; the years vary from region to region. There is a larger cycle of some 30 years superimposed, in which they occur or rather, used to occur in unusually high numbers. Pest control and history This white grub of a cockchafer was about 5 cm long. This white grub of a cockchafer was about 5 cm long. Melolontha melontha larvae macro. Melolontha melontha larvae macro. Both the grubs and the imagines have a voracious appetite and thus have been and sometimes continue to be a major problem in agriculture and forestry. In the pre-industrialized era, the main mechanism to control their numbers was to collect and kill the adult beetles, thereby interrupting the cycle. They were once very abundant: in 1911, more than 20 million individuals were collected in 18 km² of forest. Collecting adults was an only moderately successful method. In the Middle Ages, pest control was rare, and people had no effective means to protect their harvest. This gave rise to events that seem bizarre from a modern perspective. In 1320, for instance, cockchafers were brought to court in Avignon and sentenced to withdraw within three days onto a specially designated area, otherwise they would be outlawed. Subsequently since they failed to comply, they were collected and killed. Similar animal trials also occurred for many other animals in the Middle Ages.1 In some areas and times, cockchafers even served as food. A 19th century recipe from France for cockchafer soup reads: roast 1 lb 454 g of cockchafers without wings and legs in sizzling butter, then cook them in a chicken soup, add some veal liver and serve with chives on a toast. And a German newspaper from Fulda from the 1920s tells of students eating sugar-coated cockchafers. A cockchafer stew is referred to in W.G. Sebald's novel The Emigrants. May bug on a windowsill near Settle, North Yorkshire. May bug on a windowsill near Settle, North Yorkshire. Only with the modernization of agriculture in the 20th century and the invention of chemical pesticides did it become possible to effectively combat the cockchafer. Combined with the transformation of many pastures into agricultural land, this has resulted in a decrease of the cockchafer to near-extinction in some areas in Europe in the 1970s. Since then, agriculture has generally reduced its use of pesticides. Because of environmental and public health concerns pesticides may enter the food chain and thus also the human body many chemical pesticides have been phased out in the European Union and worldwide. In recent years, the cockchafer's numbers have been increasing again, causing damage to over 1,000 km² of land all over Europe. While this may be due to the reduced use of chemicals, some scientists also argue that, since the cockchafer thrives in warm and dry soils, the current increase in abundance may be related to climate change.citation needed At present, no chemical pesticides are approved for use against cockchafers, and only biological measures are utilised for control: for instance, pathogenic fungi or nematodes that kill the grubs are applied to the soil. Cultural references The cockchafer is featured in a German children's rhyme similar to the English Ladybird, Ladybird. The German rhyme goes Maikäfer flieg... Dein Vater ist im Krieg Deine Mutter ist in Pommerland Pommerland ist abgebrannt Maikäfer flieg! Cockchafer fly... Your father is at war Your mother is in Pomerania Pomerania is all aflame Cockchafer fly! The verse dates back to the times of the Thirty Years' War, in which Pomerania was pillaged and suffered heavily. Since World War II, it is associated in Germany also with the closing months of that war, when Russian troops advanced into Eastern Germany. References ^ Barton, K.: Verfluchte Kreaturen: Lichtenbergs Proben seltsamen Aberglaubens und die Logik der Hexen- und Insektenverfolgung im Malleus Maleficarum, in Joost, U.; Neumann, A. eds: Lichtenberg-Jahrbuch 2004, p. 11ff, Saarbrücken 2004 SDV Saarländische Druckerei und Verlag, ISBN 3930843870. In German. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melolontha melolontha Wikispecies has information related to: Cockchafer Cockchafers and other chafers Der Maikäfer, from the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt German Images German Pests: The Cockchafer with links to images and French and English text. Biological Pest Control Research and risk assessment on the biological control of insect pests in the EU. Fact sheet on some other chafers that also have white grubs and are turf pests. Elegy by German folksinger Reinhard Mey on the vanished cockchafers of days gone by: Es gibt keine Maikäfer mehr Maikäfer flieg Retrieved from http://en..org/wiki/Cockchafer Categories: Scarabaeidae | Beetles of EuropeHidden categories: All articles with statements | Articles with statements since June 2008 Views Article Discussion this page History Personal tools Log in / create account Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Search Go Search Interaction Community portal Recent changes Contact Donate to Help Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Printable version Permanent link Cite this page Languages БългарÑ?ки ÄŒesky Deutsch Ù?ارسی Français Ido Italiano Magyar Lietuvių Nederlands Nedersaksisch ‪Norsk bokmÃ¥l‬ Polski РуÑ?Ñ?кий Svenska Walon This page was last modified on 3 September 2008, at 23:04
39 Reasons to Drink Acai Juice Every Day
What is MonaVie - Watch the 8-minute video
Discovering MonaVie Video
The Power of You Video
Effects of MonaVie Active on Antioxidant Capacity in Humans
Log into your Wholesale MonaVie Account
So many of us do not eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, have too much stress, or are impacted with toxins and pollutants. Drinking 2 ounces of MonaVie twice a day will help your body detoxify as well as build your immune system. Its the smartest thing you can do for yourself, so start today. Buying MonaVie through our company guarantees you support 7 days a week and, if you would like to share MonaVie with your family and friends we will guide you from start to finish.
1. Click on Enroll Now (30 - 55% off retail price)
2. Pay $39 for your Wholesale ID number.
3. NO minimum order required.
4. MonaVie is delivered to your door in 3 to 5 days.