What is this? A bug on the farm? Say it isn't so! The good news is that this bug won't stay around for long.
I don't know what the true name of this bug is but around here we call them June bugs and they show up generally in late May to let us know that June is just around the corner.
So what is the story with these June bugs? They only seem to show up at night, after dark. They lounge on the deck under the outside lights as if they were sunbathing, much of the time on their backs for some reason. Tonight I have the outside light on the west deck on because of storms to the west. I was not surprised to see 10 June bugs scattered about the deck laying around like they owned the deck. The cats have been known to play with the June bugs. They have a hard shell that makes a popping noise when they land on something hard - like the deck boards. They also have a buzzing sound when they are in flight. Tomorrow morning I will likely have June bug carcasses to sweep off the deck and then they will crunch under foot.
I need to work on a fun children's story with these bugs as the main character. I am sure I could come up with something. In the meantime, stay out of the light and they won't bother you. They fly like drunk drivers with no apparent course or meaning, just get to the light and bask in its glow.
They are Melolonthinae phyllophaga, a species of scarab beetle
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllophaga_%28genus%29
The adult beetles themselves are relatively harmless leaf and grass eaters but they lay eggs underground and the grubs eat plant roots and could be trouble in your garden. The beetles are nocturnal and it's doubtful they can see all that well, hence their haphazard navigation. They have a fatal attraction to your deck lights -- but too long of an exposure to light is what kills them.