Monday Portrait: Centre Stage? A Beetle

We’ve seen all kinds of creatures have their moment as stars of Monday Portraits. But usually animals and birds. Beetles? Not so much. But I find this Forest Cockchafer to be a handsome fellow. We spotted this one on our Balkans adventure last year, but he could just as well have lived in woodland or farmland here.

He’s large – up to 30 mm in length. He’s clumsy, and likely to bump into things. He chomps away on leaves and flowers, but not to a destructive extent. These beetles only live for five or six weeks: even though, as a larva, they spend maybe three to five years growing underground.

He’ll make a large whirring noise in flight and may well clatter into your window panes. Not yet though. Look out for him in May and June. Remember, you saw him here first …

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

52 thoughts on “Monday Portrait: Centre Stage? A Beetle”

    1. Durr. Typo alert. I’ll correct ASAP – thanks! And I love spiders, so as long as you put spider in the title, so arachnophobes don’t open the post, you could post some from time to time? Please?

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  3. Wonderful shot! I remember first encountering one of these fellows as a teenager in the south of France. Exactly as you describe: large, clumsy and making an alarming whirring noise. We were sitting outside. He didn’t clatter into window panes, he clattered into me. I made much more noise than he did!

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  5. Wow that’s a stunning beetle. Thought we were in Egypt for a moment until I read you’d spotted it in the Balkans. Although, I see it is in the family Scarabaeidae like the dung beetle – all fabulous to look at unlike . . . spiders 🫣

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      2. What a shame It’s hard to understand phobias if you don’t have one, but I do know they’re real enough. Mind you, I was entirely prepared to have a phobia last night when I thought there was a mouse in the bedroom!

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    1. I’ve always been OK round bugs, beetles and spiders. All except for cockroaches, which used to frequent the bathrooms in my hall of residence ( no en suites back then) when I was a student. Not keen.

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      1. So curious about the Forest Cockchafer, a beetle not found in the US, that I looked it up. Interesting, the antenna are olfactory organs to detect food and mates. Your picture is of a male – because the guys have seven sections and
        the females six on their antenna!

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  15. What a fantastic image Margaret – love the detail of those antennae(?). Though I think these are what we called June beetles in South Africa. I had a nightmare episode when one flew into my hair (it was very long and curly then) and got trapped and was buzzing around frantically. Not nearly as frantic as I was! Thankfully my cousin manned up and helped it escape. I was terrified of them after that and hated those months when they were flying around.

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  18. Hi Magaret
    We like it very much that you didn’t choose birds like nearly everyone does but a beetle. Fine macro, we love the colours.
    Thanks for sharing
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    1. Ah, thanks! I love all the portraits, whether they’re cows, cuckoos or cockroaches. It’s the variety that makes Mondays fun. But its true: a few more insects would be great,

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  19. At first I thought he was in the snow, but reading your description, I suppose it is sand. He’s a fine creature. I once held a big cockroach (I think) who had been fitted so he could pull a small coach to educate children. It seemed quite a nice creature, like the guineapig of the insect world.

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