I’ve written about Maikäfer or cockchafers, those once elusive insects that have been making a comeback in recent years, before. However, this morning I found not one but two cockchafers sitting on my welcome mat.
Since welcome mats are a rather dangerous location for beetles, I relocated them onto the lawn. I also took a photo:
Two Maikäfer or cockchafers
Rocky, the neighbour’s cat, also came over in search of attention and maybe something edible. And since there can never be enough cat pics on the Internet, I snapped a photo of him as well:
Rocky, the neighbour’s cat
sending...
A beautiful kitteh!
Rocky is pretty much the king of the neighbourhood. Even the dogs give him a wide berth.
I’d seen the first Maikäfer a few weeks ago, extremely early. They were also warning in the local papers that indicate that we might be facing a small plague this summer.
They are also surprisingly loud when they fly.
Cockchafers is a really weird name for them.
I saw three Maikäfer to date, though not noticeably earlier than usual, which is odd, since everything else is a lot earlier than usual this year because of the warm March and April.
And yes, they are surprisingly loud. Last year, a Maikäfer flew into my open window. It was very noisy and at first, I had no idea what it was at all. Luckily, I managed to rescue it.
No idea why they’re called cockchafers in English, but it’s a dreadful name. Sounds like an STD.
There was a car called the Maikäfer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maikäfer
Great find. Thanks, I did not know that. Come to think of it, that car looks a bit like a cockchafer.