The Ohio State University

Home LandscapeNotes While walking my poodles the other evening, they spotted a cat acting very curiously under the corner street light. Since I like cats, I held back the hounds and let them enjoy the cat's antics: stalking, pouncing, and batting May beetle adults! Soon the cat discovered us, and ran away, and then my poodles also enjoyed the "buzzing toys" under the street light!

So far, the May-June beetle flight seems to be fairly light, but with recent rains, they should pick up. For some reason, many people greatly fear these buzzing beetles, but they are harmless. They are often attracted to lights at night and their bashing into windows or screens can be an annoyance (unless you're a cat!). The adult beetles actually feed on the leaves of deciduous trees with oaks and maples being the most desired hosts.

The adult feeding damage is only rarely severe enough to deserve attention. I've seen sapling oaks almost completely stripped of leaves, but this usually occurs in more rural areas where the May beetle grubs aren't under constant attack by lawn care maintenance.

Posted by David Shetlar