Anyone else being plagued by HUGE!! May bugs

I'm sure they know I hate them and thats why their buzzing me :D

The dogs are no help either they keep catching them and crunching them in front of me

Steve

Cockchafer!  Quality bug's (I'm not weird, honest) - They are soooo clumsy.  I love the summer months and being dive-bombed by cockchafers/may-bug's reminds me of lazy hot day's.  Their larvae are a bit unpleasant though, big white grubs that feed on roots in the garden - I just leave them to it if I come across them.  Maybe a source of protein for the dog's???? :D
Sarah

Yes,half the night donning slippers and gown and running around to find where the highpitched screams are coming from

Yes,half the night donning slippers and gown and running around to find where the highpitched screams are coming from

Yes,half the night donning slippers and gown and running around to find where the highpitched screams are coming from

Yikes.....sorry there seems to be one on this page tonight..half my message disappeared and the rest came out in triplicate  :-D

Are May bugs those huge flying beetle things which my cats keep bringing in ?

Yes.. and they are brown with a sort of squiggly stripe. As I tried to say earlier when the thread sprung a bug ...there seem to be more than usual this year, perhaps because of the milder winter the pupa in the ground did not get killed off. I work in a house with 60 teenage girls many from overseas, most have never seen maybugs before and think they are flying cockroaches!! When a bug gets in the house there is mass panic and enough screaming to wake the dead!! :-D

They are grim, the cats catch them and bring them in and all you can hear is them knocking against walls and doors - I keep my bedroom door closed at all times now :D :D :D

I understand the girls from overseas being scared though, when I was in Africa I woke up in the night to find a huge hissing cockroache in my sleeping bag

I can understand how that might give you a shock. :D

My puppy was chasing around last night catching and then scrunching them up. Yuk.

My pup hasnt noticed them yet but no doubt the cats will bring some in for him, they like to give him presents they have already brought him in a shrew and a sparrow - both live

The reason I have such a problem with them is,  a few years ago I was in a cycle race gasping for breath going up a very steep hill and one flew into my mouth

I tried to cough it up but it just wouldn't come up and was buzzing like mad in the back of my throat

So my only option was to swallow it it still makes me gag to this day just thinking about it.

Steve

That is 20 times worse than a hissing cockroache in my sleeping bag - poor you :(

What's a maybug?  Am I being impossibly dense?

Huge beetles that fly, usually at night around lights (they often crash into my living room window) !!!!  my mum calls them July bugs for some reason.

Ew, gross!  Just looked them up on Google - I've never seen those things before!  Why do beetles have to be so ugly?

Pupae dont get killed off in winter!  These are chafers that emerge from the pupal stage in May (hence the name :D)  They mate and lay eggs in the ground, then die off.  The eggs hatch and the larvae live underground feeding on root material getting bigger and bigger until they pupate.  Once encased in a pupa, they diapause through winter - then they emerge when the temperature is right the following spring and the whole thing starts again!

We call them flying biscuits - that's what the dogs think they are :D
After reading Steve's post, I'm definately keeping my mouth shut from now on :) :) :)

Hi Rozzer  :-) I would have thought it possible some of the pupa would be killed of in a very cold winter with a penetrating ground frost? There are certainly more bugs around this year than I have ever seen before and they seem to be emerging earlier each year? :-) They also seem to be called June bugs in part of the country and May in others,perhaps due to when the traditionally emerge.

G'Day!  Pupae that over-winter actually require the really cold snap to ensure that they diapause properly (which is basically the deep sleep)  Because these bugs are prey animals to many, there will be natural fluctuations in their numbers year after year.  Of course, being invertebrates their physiological processes are dependent on external temperature.  So as soon as the required temperature is achieved then the bugs will hatch from their pupal case, we usually see this in May, but as we know, some parts of the country get warmer quicker than others :)  Ladybirds can actually spend time frozen in ice!  When the temperature increases the ladybird starts to become active again!  I also used to oversee a captive breeding programme of moths - and if I had a male pupa I would put him in the fridge until a female came along that way he would slow down his development due to temperature...When I was ready for him he would be warmed up and subsequently emerge!  How much of a geek do I sound now :D
Dont get me wrong, not all survive the winter months for a number of reasons.  But for development purposes they actually require a really cold snap!
Sarah :)
(former entomologist @ Bristol Zoo!) :D

Thanks for that Sarah :-D All very interesting. I don't like May Bugs but think 'Know your enemy' applies here... makes them less scarey ! The varied knowledge of users to this site is amazing.
:-P

I'm a cool, hip 27 year old with a life....Honest!!! :D  If I start getting enthusiastic about bugs I reckon I might come across as a real weirdo :D :D  Used to get me on national TV quite regularly though - with all sorts of celebs!  Ah, but now I've moved on.....:D
Sarah

what a cool job :)  Staying on the same lines of creepy crawlies .... it seems it is slow worm season, the cats keep bringing them in - either the body with out a tail or just the tail wriggling about   They are proper gross, ive got a 5ft snake but im still scared to pick up slow worms, just makes me think though ive caught him with a couple but I wonder how many he has brought in when im not home and are now living in my house

:D - What I find a bit unpleasant is the spiderlings living on my washing line!  I have some posh pegs from Marks and Spencer and they have a neat little gap in them where spiders like to live, everytime I disturb the pegs the spiders drop down on me - never mind the ones I bring in with the washing   I've kept black widows before now but I still find this experience a bit nasty :D
Sarah

ahhhh u cant be a bug geek and not LURVE spiders........

They are ACE!!!!

Ive got a pet house spider called Fat Bob (cuz he just looks like a fat bob!) and his body clock beats mine hands down .... 17 minutes past nine he comes out from behind the bookcase and does a trip behind the sofa, and then trundles back to the bookcase again...... dunno why though!

Dont seem to get many May-bugs here (North-West)...... not a big fan of them, the way they fly and sound reminds me of a giant bee crossed with a miniature bomber plane..... eurgh.

Im a bit sad, i had a argument with a friend, because she stamped on a spider in my living room the other day.... just for being a spider!!!!!

Hmmmm

Em

I do lurve em - honest!  Just when they drop down on me :D...I used to look after a display that contained an african species of orb weaver, big old skeletal looking spiders that spin the strong 'Indiana Jones' type web - when I stuck my head in they used to drop down   I prefer the big furry's though :D
Sarah
PS Say hi to fat bob!

I will do.

I have to admit, im not a fan of them landing on my head, mostly cos im scared ill squish them when i brush them off.

Any idea (since you ahve admitted you are a bug geek, hahaha) what type of spider would live in canal tunnels.... these are the buggers taht drop down on your head, seemingly when the light at the front of the boat gets to them, they zoom down a bit of silk and land on me...... i think they  have long thin abdomens and the legs seem to point two pairs towards the front and two pairs twoards the back, rather than evenly spread out (although its a while since ive seen any, i hide in the boat now!)

Em

Hi Em, there is a British species of spider known as the cave or cellar spider (latin: Meta menardi)  They have a fondness for dark, damp area's, hence the name of course :D  They are more of a brown colour and do tend to point that first pair of legs forward - might be worth looking them up and see if they are the culprit!!!  There is also the harvestman (latin: Pholcus phalangioides - sp?) which isn't a spider technically but still an arachnid nonetheless, usually seen in outside toilets or sheds - they have really spindly legs and a thin, long abdomen - however their legs seem to just spread out.  Simply because you mention canal tunnels I would initially think Meta?  There is one particularly nasty British species who will bite readily and it hurts...He is the woodlouse spider (Dysdera crocata) Bright red, huge fangs, with a peanut shaped and coloured abdomen - has the huge fangs so that it can penetrate the carapace of woodlice (hence the name) nasty little piece of work   You wouldn't want him dropping on your head :D
'Bug Geek' :D

That sounds like the chappy yes.

Mmmm, i have something that lives on my washing line.... similar to the cave spidery things i think, again very elongated abdomen, they are always sitting on my pegs, or along the length of the line, with their legs along the line rather than round it... sort of a greeny colour, is that the harvestman? And if so, what is the thing with the tiny round brown body, visible eyes and huuuuuuuuugely long legs that i thought WAS the harvestman then..........

I havent seen the woodlouse spider..... where do you find one of them, dont think ive ever seen one, although i did see something that, i think has a name that is to do with crabs, not sure what colour that one was, might have been green, might have been red (i might have invented this entirely i dont know now!) and definately not a usual spider shape.... saw it whilst camping in south wales one weekend...... (oculd have been beer influenced though).

I shall leave Dysdera Crocata out of my spider experiments then, i now know that both the house spider (would that be Tegenaria Gigantea sp?) and the garden spider (i only have room for one mis-remembered latin name in my head) will both bite you, IF you prod them repeatedly and they are in a confined space..... and it does hurt!

Also, as my rather cruel sister found out, the garden spider has a voracious appetite and likes a bit of bondage, especially if you drop a house spider into her web, she wraps his legs and eats him, and he doesnt know WOT to do! (like i said, not my favourite person my sister, this is the ADULT who watched a large beetle make it safely across a busy road, and then stamped on it!).

Ahhhh bug geekery, people may think you are sad, but a geek is never sad, not when you compare it to a WANNABE geek, who doesnt actually have the brains to be one at all!!!!!!!!!

Em (wannabe geek)

Hi Em!  Woodlouse spider would be found in damp places, under rocks, anywhere there are woodlice really.  Then there are crab spiders (Misumena vatia) that come in bright yellow, white and green colours, almost like a triangle shaped abdomen, legs pointed forward and like to sit on flowers!  There are generally two types of harvestman, the one I mentioned earlier and one that is classified slightly differently due to one abdominal section!!!  So to most they would look the same, and 'harvestman' would be a general term for both these arachnids!  Well done you for knowing Tegenaria :D we have a few Tegenaria species but gigantea is the one we generally see around the house - and your right about their ability to bite.  Males do not have a genital area (if you like!) and therefore use those pedipalps at the front of their body (sometimes look like an extra pair of legs) to absorb spider sperm which they have deposited on a web earlier.  Once fully charged they have to get rid of it quick before they die so they are always on the move for a female (which is why we see alot running through the living room this time of year!) when they reach their mate they actually face eachother so that the male can push his palps underneath her!!! (dirty Bob :D)
I think the garden spider is Araneus quadratus?  I ran through a web as a kid and a big orange one ended up on my arm, I was well scared :D
Sarah
(total geek, and now everyone knows it)

ah well, i think geeks rock, all my friends are geeks of one sort or another, kind of 'geeks unite' hee hee.

I had to learn a lot about tegenaria, firstly because my mother said that they couldnt bite (hence the bite experiment, very scientific im sure 'We took one Tegenaria Gigantea, and aggravated it by repeatedly poking it with a finger. It bit us. I conclude that Tegenaria is capable of penetrating human skin. Ouch' ) and secondly because a friend of mine is petrified of spiders.... she used to come to my house at midnight, wake me up, take me to her house and get me to remove spiders.

The thing is, because we were constantly upsetting the spider population of her house, there were of course more and more huge males zooming about desperately trying to find lady spiders, which they couldnt find, because i had had to evict them all... she just wouldnt have it that if she left them alone and just removed the eggs when she found them, she would see less spiders.

Will tegenaria eat woodlice, or is it only the woodlouse spider that will eat them, because her house had a MASSIVE woodlouse population, and the spiders all seemed to be where the woodlice where.....

My little welsh 'crawl in the tent and scare friend (oh yes, you  KNOW it was the phobic friend) was definately a crab spider then... but im miffed ive never seen a woodlouse spider... i think im going to have to go and see if i can find one now (yes i will look a fool in my garden upturning bits of wood n stuff wont i, thanks!).... i bet id find more at my dads though, in gloucester, than i will in the frozen north (manchester)... hmmm

I love the garden spider, very pretty, i intend to have a tattoo of her on my back one day (as fond as i am of Tegenaria, he is NOT a pretty spider at all, lol), i did have a tattoo of a tarantula on my arm, but the tattooist didnt do a particularly good job, so ive covered that with a big purple rose now.  When i was a kid, we had a summer house in the garden, and one year there was a huge wasps nest in the roof.... anyway a garden spider made her web smack bang across the entrance to the nest, and spent all summer eating huge wasps!!!!!! she was HUGE by the end of the summer, and i wouldnt let my mum take the nest down even though i m terrified of wasps, because she would have had to move the web.

Hmmmm, yes, much geekyness.. hee hee.

Em

well ive just spent a happy hour or so looking up spider sites online.......

Answered a couple of my questions for myself, namely 'what was the HUGE housespider i once saw, it really was about 2cm body length with a leg span of around 4 inches, and it was SCARY!!!!!! (bear in mind i viewed this spider from the top of a flight of stairs, and i could see the hairs on his legs from there, the size i worked out from the floor tile it was standing on, and he covered most of it!) even i dont blame my friend for screaming when she saw that one.

Seems it was Tegenaria Parietina.... dont think ive seen more than two or three of those in my life..... mostly T. Gigantea and some of the other T. family.

But that lead me to find out more about the Tegenaria family of spiders, and now i know more than i wanted to about T. Agrestris .... erm, scary???????? Please tell me we dont have Hobo Spiders in the uk, pretty please???? Because apart from anything else, thats nto one i want to prod and have bite me, and at a glance it looks so similar to others in the T. family....... i might develop arachnaphobia now......

Em (getting geekier by the minute!)

Rozzer,

If you like your bugs big and bold, you try to get to the East Coast of the U.S. and catch the cidicas emerging from their 17-year stay underground.   Incredibly noisy, day and night, big and ugly.   My cat used to think they were rather tastey though.  He could smell them underground and would dig around tree roots until he unearthed his snack.  :-)

Stacey

Hi Stacey, do you mean cicada's?  Did you know that back in the day cicada's were found in Britain (useless fact :D)  I was once lucky enough to be sent on a 10 day conference in Costa Rica where I was able to rough it in the rainforest   Did I see some beasties or what!!!!!!!!  Spiders so big that their eye's lit up when the torch light caught them, and big bull ants, scorpions, snakes, poison dart frogs and howler monkeys!  Amazing experience but I am a bit too girlie for all that now - I now sit behind a desk!!!!
Sarah :)

Yup, I meant cicada, I was too lazy to check the spelling.  I now know to stay out of Costa Rica.  :-)  No way am I getting near spiders that big!  

Stacey