Eastern May Khrushchev

Body length 20–29 mm. Males are smaller than females. The body is large, oblong-oval, convex. Coloring is very variable. The last segment of the maxillary palps is elongated, somewhat curved. Head in rather dense spots, with rather dense, long, protruding, light yellow-gray hairs. The eyes are medium sized, rather convex. The head is rather small, drawn into the pronotum.

The pygidium is very sheer, suddenly thins out at the apex to the appendix, which is not particularly long for the male, narrowed in front of the apex, and again widened and rounded, the female is short, of equal width throughout, sometimes absent. Sexual dimorphism also consists in the dentate of the tibia of the forelegs in the female and in the number of plates of the club of the antennae: the male is 7-segmented and about 2 times larger than the female, which has a 6-segmented club.

The front tibia is external with 3 or 2 teeth, the main tooth being blunt. The paws are thin.

Widely distributed in Europe and Asia. It is found in the northern part of the European steppe region, in Siberia - in the taiga and forest-steppe zones. Prevails in northern and central Europe on clearings on sandy soils.

The northern border of the range passes through Vyborg , Arkhangelsk , Tartu , in the east, the border of the range follows from Yakutia along the Pacific coast, through Manchuria to Beijing . The southern border in Europe is the Danube , then it follows the line - Odessa , Zaporozhye , Uralsk , Altai , Shanghai .

• Melolontha hippocastani romana - the entire upper side of the body, including the pronotum, is covered with thick white hairy scales that turn into hairs. Range: Central Italy .
• Melolontha hippocastani mongolica - characterized by a more stocky body, a shorter and thicker pygidium apex. Length 19–27 mm. Range: Transbaikalia , Eastern Siberia , northern Mongolia , northern China .

The flight of beetles in the north of the range and in the European part occurs in mid-May to the end of June, single females meet until the end of July, beginning of August. In the taiga zone of Eastern Siberia, flight occurs at the end of May and the beginning of July; single females meet until August 10. In the southern part of the range, in the forest-steppe and steppe, flight occurs in the second half of April – early June; single females meet until early July. In some years, the flight is shorter, sometimes less than a month. At first, single males appear, and after 6-7 days, females. Beetles fly in the evening, after sunset, at dusk. By midnight, flight ceases. During the summer, beetles sit on trees and feed on leaves: birch , oak , maple , hazel , aspen , poplar , willow and other hardwoods. Of conifers feed on larch and pine . Beetles eat in the afternoon.

Females lay up to 70 eggs in 3-4 doses, in the soil at a depth of 20-30 cm. Eggs are oval in size, 2x2.5 mm in size. After 4-6 weeks, larvae emerge. The larvae of the first year of life feed mainly on humus and do not bring harm. Pupation after 3 wintering in June-July. In the north, as well as in shaded and slightly heated areas, 4-year generation. Pupation at a depth of 10-30 cm. Stage of pupa 1-2 months.

It is one of the main pests of fruit and forest plantations. Beetles can be harmful by eating leaves on trees. Larvae that consume the roots of young trees in nurseries and pine plantations are especially harmful. Young plants die, and older adults are stunted.

• May bug - S.S. Izhevsk