Biology
Melolontha melolontha grubs white'C' shaped with six legs and reddish-brown heads. © Rasbak, Creative Commons license Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Lifecycle
The complete life-cycle cycle from egg to adult is usually 3-4 years.
Grubs
The grubs (commonly called white grubs) are `C' shaped, have six legs and are white with reddish-brown heads.
They hatch from the eggs in about 5-6 weeks and can grow to one and a half inches in length when fully mature.
They can be eaten by rooks, crows and gulls if exposed by ploughing.
The grubs live for 3 years and usually turn into pupae at the end of their third summer. They then change into adults and stay underground during the winter and emerge in the following year.
Adults
The adults emerge from the soil and fly towards trees to gather together and mate. Fertilised females fly back to the open treeless areas from where they emerged and burrow underground in order to lay their eggs on roots.
Adults are active fliers at dusk onwards. They feed on leaves after dark and rest on trees during the day.
They only live for about a month in all and can be eaten by owls and bats.