Native to Europe and introduced in parts of North America.
Fine-art photographic collection
Amphimallon majale
A short-lived beetle whose hidden grubs can detach an entire lawn from its roots.
About this species
European Chafer
Amphimallon majale(Razoumowsky, 1789)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
The adult European chafer lives for only a brief summer mating period and feeds little or not at all. Almost the whole life cycle is spent underground, where large white grubs consume grass roots and can destroy the connection between turf and soil.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Scarabaeidae · Amphimallon
Accepted species or infraspecific taxon in the current GBIF/Catalogue of Life treatment; unsupported details have been omitted rather than inferred. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and introduced North American localitiesBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Grassland, lawns, pasture and other habitats with grass roots suitable for larval development.
Adults are mainly active during the summer flight period, often around dusk.
Larvae feed on grass roots; adults feed little or on foliage depending on locality.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Dense grub populations can remove so many roots that damaged turf lifts or rolls back from the soil like a loose carpet.
Adults emerge together on warm evenings, swarm around trees for mating and return underground before daylight.
The beetles themselves cause little feeding damage; most destruction is done by larvae underground and by birds or mammals digging them out.