Melolontha melolontha

TaxID: 7061

Basic Information

Melolontha melolontha

Common Cockchafer, May Bug, common cockchafer

The common cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha), also colloquially known as the Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is a species of scarab beetle belonging to the genus Melolontha. It is native to Europe, and it is one of several closely-related and morphologically similar species of Melolontha called cockchafers, alongside Melolontha hippocastani (the forest cockchafer). The cockchafer develops via metamorphosis, in which the beetle undergoes stages of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. The mating behaviour is controlled by pheromones. The males usually swarm during the mating season while the females stay put and feed on leaves. The leaves release green leaf volatiles when they are fed on by females, which the male can sense and thus locate the female for mating opportunity. The larvae use both the plant volatiles and CO2 to locate the plant root for food. This species is an important and nutritious food source for many species. The adults and larvae feed on plants, and are regarded as agricultural pests of crops such as grasses and fruit trees. Adults have harmful effects for the crop when they aggregate in large groups. The larvae can cause severe damage and kill the plant by gnawing the plant roots.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Eukaryota

Arthropoda

Insecta

Coleoptera

Scarabaeidae

Melolontha

melolontha

-

Photos (5 photos)

Melolontha melolontha
c
(c) theredplains@BY-NC
Melolontha melolontha
c
(c) Gilles San Martin@BY-SA
Melolontha melolontha
c
(c) marie_hanova@BY-NC
Melolontha melolontha
c
(c) Gilles San Martin@BY-SA
Melolontha melolontha
c
(c) Donald Hobern@BY

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (1 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

Scientific Name Status
Poaceae Host

Quarantine Status (11 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Brazil Absent 2018
Cambodia Quarantine pests —
Ecuador Quarantine pests —
Egypt Abesent 2018
Guatemala Absent —
Japan Quarantine pests —
Republic of Korea Quarantine pests —
Moldova Quarantine pests —
Mexico Quarantine pests 2018
Uruguay Absent —
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Distribution (42 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

42
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Austria Present —
Belgium Present —
Bulgaria Present —
Bosnia and Herzegovina Present —
Belarus Present —
Switzerland Present —
Czechia Present —
Germany Present —
Denmark Present —
Spain Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

Download CSV

Genomes (1 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCA_935421255.1 Contig 1504 787 787 -

Transcriptomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No transcriptome records available.

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature