Editing Cockchafer (section)

{{Short description|Species of scarab beetle}}
{{other uses}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Common cockchafer
| image = Hanneton commun (Melolontha melolontha) ♀, Parc de Woluwé, Bruxelles (51222810874).jpg
| image_caption = Female
| genus = Melolontha
| species = melolontha
| authority = Linnaeus, 1758
}}
The '''common cockchafer''' (''Melolontha melolontha''), also colloquially known as the '''Maybug''',<ref name=BugLife/>{{efn|Other names include: bracken clock, bummler, chovy, cob-worm, dorrs, dumbledarey, dumbledore, humbuz, June bug, kittywitch, billy witch, may-bittle, midsummer dor, mitchamador, oak-wib, rookworm, snartlegog, spang beetle, tom beedel and {{lang|cy|chwilen y bwm}} ([[Welsh language|Welsh]]).<ref name=BugLife>{{cite web|title=Common Cockchafer|url=https://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs-and-habitats/common-cockchafer|publisher=Bug Life}}</ref><ref name=BB>{{cite book |author1=Marren, Peter |author2=Mabey, Richard |title=Bugs Britannica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ah62bUZLDOwC |year=2010 |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=978-0-7011-8180-2}}</ref>}} '''Maybeetle''',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cockchafer {{!}} insect|url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/cockchafer|access-date=2021-07-01|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> or '''doodlebug''',<ref name="DiscWlife">{{cite web |title=7 things you never knew about the cockchafer |publisher=Discover Wildlife |url=http://www.discoverwildlife.com/animals/7-things-you-never-knew-about-cockchafer |date=8 April 2014 |access-date=4 July 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The larvae use both the plant volatiles and CO<sub>2</sub> to locate the plant root for food.<ref name=":1" />

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.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Fraval |first=A. |date=1998 |title=HYPP Zoology |url=http://www.inra.fr/Internet/Produits/HYPPZ/RAVAGEUR/6melmel.htm.}}</ref>