Cockchafers
(Melolontha vulgaris). The Cock-chafers, or May Bugs, are very destructive, both in the larval and the perfect state. In the latter condition, they are found during the spring, generally towards the end of May. They are rarely seen out in the day, choosing night to carry on their depredations. They feed chiefly on the leaves of the Oak, Hazel, Elm, and Willow, sometimes wholly denuding them of their foliage. Cockchafers belong to the order Lamellicornes, the antennae of which are lamellated, or consisting of a series of plates. The female lays her eggs in the earth, several inches below the surface, placing them one by one in a little heap until some eighty or ninety have been deposited. The eggs are somewhat oval, and of a white or pale yellow colour. They are hatched in about a fortnight. As soon as the larva has reached its full length, it measures 1 1/2in. or more, and is dirty white, with brown head, and blackish at the tail end. By this time, it is three and a-half years old, and has subsisted on the tender roots of the plants. It then takes the pupa form, remaining in the earth until winter is past, and the perfect beetle emerges, as previously stated, in spring. The following are a few of the numerous remedies recommended for the extermination of this troublesome pest. Where they abound in large quantities, they may be shaken down on to cloths spread under the trees, and afterwards collected and destroyed.
Starlings. In some nurseries and other large establishments, it is customary to hang nesting boxes around, for the benefit of the starlings, who soon take to the nests. As soon as the mature Cockchafer appears above ground, the starlings are ready to receive him, and the result is comparative freedom from the insect. Rooks, partridges, and some other birds, should also be encouraged, for when the soil is dug, particularly in a slight frost, they will clear off all the grubs they can reach.