Do Junebugs really bite? > General Discussion

Posted: 5/31/2006 11:58:43 PM EDT

Or is it just urban legend? Either way, I really hate the damned things and blast them with my airsoft rifle (about all it's good for) when I get the chance.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:02:43 AM EDT

[#1]

Phyllophaga bite if you pinch them.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:04:37 AM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Phyllophaga bite if you pinch them.

And just what is that?

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:07:15 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Phyllophaga bite if you pinch them.

And just what is that?

We dont call them June Bugs here. They are just beetles.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:09:44 AM EDT

[#4]

I dunno, but they wear crash helmets. I hate this time of year on a motorcycle.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:13:02 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Phyllophaga bite if you pinch them.

And just what is that?

We dont call them June Bugs here. They are just beetles.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Phyllophaga_spPCCP20040419-4076A2.jpg/667px-Phyllophaga_spPCCP20040419-4076A2.jpg

But do they bite?

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:32:52 AM EDT

[#6]

WTF are "June bugs?"

Are they like the mythological "Bedbugs?"

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:34:51 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
WTF are "June bugs?"

Are they like the mythological "Bedbugs?"

They are prevalent during the month of June.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:36:23 AM EDT

[#8]

I played with them as a kid. We would not have played with them any more if they bit.

They can be a bit scratchy but I don't think they bite.

-Foxxz

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:36:26 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Quoted:
WTF are "June bugs?"

Are they like the mythological "Bedbugs?"

They are prevalent during the month of June.

Ok...

But have you ever really SEEN a "June Bug?"

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:37:44 AM EDT

[#10]

Of course! I've seen many June Bugs.

Oh, and there are such things as "bedbugs." Look it up.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:40:44 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Phyllophaga bite if you pinch them.

And just what is that?

We dont call them June Bugs here. They are just beetles.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Phyllophaga_spPCCP20040419-4076A2.jpg/667px-Phyllophaga_spPCCP20040419-4076A2.jpg

That's not a junebug.

Junebugs are green. When I was a kid we used to tie a string to one of their legs and fly them around like a toy.

ETA: This is a junebug -->

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:40:58 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
WTF are "June bugs?"

Are they like the mythological "Bedbugs?"

They are prevalent during the month of June.

Ok...

But have you ever really SEEN a "June Bug?"

I have leathers full of 'em. Like I said earlier, they wear crash helmets.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:58:35 AM EDT

[#13]

I can't believe you admitted you had an air-soft rifle.

Posted: 6/1/2006 12:59:26 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Phyllophaga bite if you pinch them.

And just what is that?

We dont call them June Bugs here. They are just beetles.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Phyllophaga_spPCCP20040419-4076A2.jpg/667px-Phyllophaga_spPCCP20040419-4076A2.jpg

That's not a junebug.

Junebugs are green. When I was a kid we used to tie a string to one of their legs and fly them around like a toy.

ETA: This is a junebug --> www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/junebug.jpg

They aren't green in Michigan. A reddish-brown beetle is called a June bug in Michigan. I can't find what a June bug is when I Google it.

Posted: 6/1/2006 1:02:13 AM EDT

[#15]

Negative on the green beetle, June bugs are dark brown like in flaming glory's post.
Do they bite, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. They are harmless and are kamakazee like in the respect they are only interested in fornicating and crash into everything.

They have nothing to do with bed-bugs.
The green beetle is more like a scarab.

Posted: 6/1/2006 1:08:33 AM EDT

[#16]

www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/natural/insects/bugsfaq/junebeet.htm

June Beetle larva
Credit: Terry Thormin

INTRODUCTION
Also known as May Beetles and June Bugs, these beetles often turn up at lights from mid-May to early July. There are well over 200 species in North America, but only four species are known to occur in Alberta. Identification of June Beetles to the species level even for those four species requires examining genitalia. .

IDENTIFICATION
In Alberta June Beetles in this genus are all about 15 to 20 mm long and rather dull brown in colour. They are also rather robust beetles. The larvae are large white grubs that usually darken near the back end and are found in the soil.

DISTRIBUTION
Found throughout most of North America. Only one species is known to reach as far north the Territories. Found throughout Alberta.

TIME OF YEAR
Adults are present from mid-May to early July. Because the larvae take up to three years to develop, they are present in the soil all year round. They can sometimes be found on the surface in sandy areas during the summer months.

HABITAT AND HABITS
Grubs feed on the roots of grasses and some crops, and are usually found in the soil of agricultural and weedy areas. The adults feed at night on the foliage of various trees and bushes. Because adults are so strongly attracted to lights, they often turn up in numbers at streetlights and porch lights. They may be easy to spot along trails in sandy areas during the day, when they are often very lethargic.

SIMILAR SPECIES
The four species of Phyllophaga found in Alberta are very hard to separate. Another species of June Beetle, found in the prairies of Alberta, is the Ten-lined June Beetle, Polyphylla decemlineata, which gets up to 25 mm long and is distinctively marked with alternating, bold, white or cream and greenish-gray lines.

COMMENTS
June Beetles are not dangerous to humans as they do not bite. They can, however, both as adults and in the larval stage, become numerous enough to be, at times, serious pests. Most of the phone calls we get are about specimens that have been found at lights. People do at times get confused between June Beetles and either Predacious Diving Beetles or Giant Water Bugs. You might want to look at the pages on both of these species to see the differences.

Posted: 6/1/2006 1:42:48 AM EDT

[#17]

Big and nasty... come out at night and hang around the front porch light. Very stupid bugs... I'm not sure they can see. They just fly until they run into something, then squirm around until they flip over. Repeat over and over. They stick in clothing and hair because of their pointy legs. They don't bite but its a little freaky to have this huge thing whack into your head and then stick in your hair and wiggle around.

Posted: 6/1/2006 2:05:03 AM EDT

[#18]

Sitting on the front porch, we used to make bets on how long the next June bug would take in the zapper.

Zip! (mosquito)

Zap! (moth)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
<house lights dim>zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
<street lamps dim>zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzap! (June bug)

Jim

Posted: 6/1/2006 2:12:07 AM EDT

[#19]

Like everyone else said, they like to crash into shit, but they don't bite. During this time of year I go collect them off the back patio at night and feed them to my Oscars and Arowana.

Posted: 6/1/2006 3:24:05 AM EDT

[#20]

My little girl likes to catch them by bucketful and feed them to chickens next morning. They also clog up my water for cattle. In anyway, they come in April and May where we are.

Posted: 6/1/2006 3:32:56 AM EDT

[#21]

I have used them as bait when I was a kid. They would tear up the bass, bluegills and catfish believe it or not.

Posted: 6/1/2006 3:36:34 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
I have used them as bait when I was a kid. They would tear up the bass, bluegills and catfish believe it or not.

I caught my first salmon on a june bug, too.

Posted: 6/1/2006 3:38:10 AM EDT

[#23]

June bugs here are more orangish. Turn on a light at dusk and you'll quickly see a half-dozen of them. Never been bitten but they do have prickly feet.

Yeah, here's one:

Posted: 6/1/2006 3:53:36 AM EDT

[#24]

damn annoying. they are very prevailent around here right now.

Posted: 6/14/2006 10:43:28 PM EDT

[#25]

Damn bugs

Posted: 6/14/2006 10:53:16 PM EDT

[#26]

we hav ethe orange brown ones, black ones and green ones.

Posted: 6/14/2006 11:22:16 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
WTF are "June bugs?"

Are they like the mythological "Bedbugs?"

They are prevalent during the month of June.

Ok...

But have you ever really SEEN a "June Bug?"

Geez they are freaking everywhere here, I sure wish those fuckers where mythical!

You can't even walk on my front porch with out crunching several of them. They fly into your hair, then those prickly legs touch my skin and freak me out. (I squirm like a little girl when there are bugs in my hair or on my face, can't help it, just freaky) You can take a ATV ride and end up with a 2 black eyes after being bombarded by them. They swarm around my porch lights.

Its funny to me that you have never heard of these things, reminds of a friend from Michigan that had never heard of Chiggers.

I have never been bit by one, nor seen anyone get bit by one. but my philosophy is "If it has a mouth it can bite" My High School teacher told me Praying Mantis' can't bite while we were on a nature walk. He picked one up and sure enough that bastard bit him.

Posted: 6/14/2006 11:33:59 PM EDT

[#28]

When I was a kid I used to smack them out of the air with a ping pong paddle

Posted: 6/14/2006 11:34:53 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
When I was a kid I used to smack them out of the air with a ping pong paddle

We used to shoot them out of paintball guns, but you have to find the right caliber June Bugs. (Muzzle loaded) leave a nasty mess and Hurt like hell too

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