The joy of June bugs

Have you ventured outside to grab your mail and found June bug carcasses on your front step?

                                        

My kids get screamish and take off in the opposite direction when they see these little creatures.  So what are they afraid of?  I believe that knowledge is power, so I collected a couple of the carcasses (make sure you grab the ones that are light and airy; we had a surprise when one played dead and tried to get free when we were examining it!).  We put them on a paper plate, counted the legs, observed it's 3 body parts (head, thorax and abdomen), and then did a little internet research.

After our mini science lesson, the kids aren't willing to collect and hold the June bugs, but they aren't screaming every time they see one of these beetles either, and I call that progress!


Here's what we found in our internet search courtesy of bugfacts.net:

June Bug

My Home: Found all over North America, I hide
in trees during the day. As adult beetles, we
swarm in great numbers in early summer,
usually at dark and are strongly attracted
to lights.

What I eat: As a larva, I live
underground and eat the roots
of grasses and other plants.
As an adult, I feed at night and
eat vegetation, usually the leaves
from trees and bushes.

What I look like: I am less than
one inch in length, am dark brown to
blackish in color, have a hard casing and
have wings.

How I am born: I go through four stages of
development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. My
egg is laid in the ground, and I can live for two to
three years in the ground as a larva before surfacing
to become an adult. My total lifespan is up to four years. 

  Fun Facts
June bugs get their
name from emerging in
great quantities in June.
These beetles make a tasty
food for your pet toads and
lizards.