March 29, 2024

Cockchafer beetle pupa (Melolontha melolontha)

(Melolontha melolontha)

Cockchafer beetle pupa (Melolontha melolontha)

This little fellow has probably lived under our lawn as a grub for 3 years and has just turned into pupae at the end of its third summer. Within six weeks it’ll metamorphose into an adult, but still remain underground during the winter to emerge next May ready to bash its armoured head against our windows.

Read more about this quintessential spring beetle species at the Natural History Museum website.