{{short description|Species of beetle}} {{more citations needed|date=August 2013}} {{Speciesbox |image= Amphimallon_solstitialis01.jpg | image_caption = |taxon = Amphimallon solstitiale |authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) }}

'''''Amphimallon solstitiale''''', also known as the '''summer chafer''' or '''European june beetle''', is a beetle similar to the cockchafer but much smaller, approximately {{convert|20|mm}} in length. They are declining in numbers now, but where found they are often seen in large numbers. At dusk they actively fly around tree tops looking for a mate and can often be found drowning in pools of water the following morning. They are also attracted to light and come in through open, lit windows and fly around lamps, making quite a racket while bumping into lights. They are found throughout the Palearctic region (and North America) and, commonly seen from June to August, living in meadows, hedgerows, and gardens, and eating plants and tree foliage.

The larva of summer chafer undergo a two to three-year period of development underground, feeding upon host plants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tolasch |first1=Till |last2=Sölter |first2=Susanne |last3=Tóth |first3=Miklós |last4=Ruther |first4=Joachim |last5=Francke |first5=Wittko |date=2003-04-01 |title=(R)-Acetoin-Female Sex Pheromone of the Summer Chafer Amphimallon solstitiale (L.) |url=https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022992516854 |journal=Journal of Chemical Ecology |language=en |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=1045–1050 |doi=10.1023/A:1022992516854 |pmid=12775160 |bibcode=2003JCEco..29.1045T |issn=1573-1561|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Carabid beetles, such as ''Poecilus cupreus'', hunt and consume larvae and serve as a primary predator in arable fields.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=WALDNER |first1=THOMAS |last2=TRAUGOTT |first2=MICHAEL |date=2012-03-23 |title=DNA-based analysis of regurgitates: a noninvasive approach to examine the diet of invertebrate consumers |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0998.2012.03135.x |journal=Molecular Ecology Resources |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=669–675 |doi=10.1111/j.1755-0998.2012.03135.x |pmid=22443278 |bibcode=2012MolER..12..669W |issn=1755-098X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

These June beetles act as root pests for a number of economically important crops including potatoes, rape, legumes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Xing-Zhuo |last2=Zhang |first2=Li |last3=Feng |first3=Run-Qiu |last4=Zhang |first4=Li-Jun |last5=Luo |first5=Fang-Zhen |last6=Yuan |first6=Ming-Long |date=2019-01-02 |title=Mitochondrial genome of Amphimallon solstitiale (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) and phylogenetic analysis |journal=Mitochondrial DNA Part B |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=110–111 |doi=10.1080/23802359.2018.1536482 |issn=2380-2359|doi-access=free }}</ref> chestnuts,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Kazlm |first1=Sezen |last2=Ismail |first2=Demir |last3=Hatice |first3=Katl |last4=Zihni |first4=Demirbag |date=2005 |title=Investigations on Bacteria as a Potential Biological Control Agent of Summer Chafer, Amphimallon solstitiale L. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) |url=https://koreascience.kr/article/JAKO200507521912501.page |journal=Journal of Microbiology |volume=43 |issue=5 |pages=463–468 |pmid=16273040 |issn=1225-8873}}</ref> and turfgrass.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |title=Plant Analysis for Turfgrass |date=2011-09-12 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b11186-11 |work=Best Management Practices for Saline and Sodic Turfgrass Soils |pages=149–164 |access-date=2023-10-08 |publisher=CRC Press |doi=10.1201/b11186-11 |isbn=978-0-429-15019-7|url-access=subscription }}</ref> As generalist herbivores, they primarily feed upon secondary roots with smaller amounts of anti-herbivore chemicals across many different species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tsunoda |first1=Tomonori |last2=Krosse |first2=Sebastian |last3=van Dam |first3=Nicole M. |date=2017-06-08 |title=Root and shoot glucosinolate allocation patterns follow optimal defence allocation theory |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=105 |issue=5 |pages=1256–1266 |doi=10.1111/1365-2745.12793 |issn=0022-0477|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017JEcol.105.1256T }}</ref> Several chemical and bio-control agents have been developed to control their populations,<ref name=":1" /> including their endemic bacteria<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=BİRYOL |first1=Seda |last2=EFE |first2=Davut |last3=ESKİ |first3=Ardahan |last4=DEMİRBAĞ |first4=Zihni |last5=DEMİR |first5=İsmail |date=2020-07-21 |title=Fungal pathogens of Amphimallon solstitiale Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) |journal=Turkish Journal of Entomology |pages=375–384 |doi=10.16970/entoted.663690 |issn=1010-6960|doi-access=free }}</ref> and entomopathogenic nematodes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sajnaga |first1=Ewa |last2=Skowronek |first2=Marcin |last3=Kalwasińska |first3=Agnieszka |last4=Kazimierczak |first4=Waldemar |last5=Lis |first5=Magdalena |last6=Jach |first6=Monika Elżbieta |last7=Wiater |first7=Adrian |date=2022-03-15 |title=Comparative Nanopore Sequencing-Based Evaluation of the Midgut Microbiota of the Summer Chafer (Amphimallon solstitiale L.) Associated with Possible Resistance to Entomopathogenic Nematodes |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=3480 |doi=10.3390/ijerph19063480 |issn=1660-4601|doi-access=free |pmid=35329164 |pmc=8950650 }}</ref>

==Distribution== The species can be found throughout Europe, extending into Turkey and even occurring in portions of East Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=257482|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141011152529/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=257482|url-status= dead|archive-date= October 11, 2014|title=''Amphimallon solstitiale'' (Linnaeus 1758)|publisher=Fauna Europaea|version=2.6.1|date=May 24, 2013|accessdate=August 3, 2013}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> A number of other species of ''Amphimallon'' have been synonymized with subspecies of ''A. solstitale'', including ''A. ochraceum'' and ''A. irtishensis''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eckehard Rössner |first1=Schwerin |last2=Frank-Thorsten Krell |first2=Denver |date=2008 |title=Identität und taxonomischer Status von Amphimallon ochraceum (Knoch, 1801) und A. fallenii (Gyllenhal, 1817) sowie weiterer mit A. solstitiale (Linnaeus, 1758) verwandter Taxa (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Veroeff-Natmus-Erfurt_27_0221-0261.pdf |journal=Veröffentlichungen des Naturkundemuseums Erfurt (In Folge VERNATE) |volume=27 |pages=221–261 |via=ZOBODAT}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Amphimallon solstitiale|''Amphimallon solstitiale''}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110219083849/http://www.eol.org/pages/3257769 Amphimallon solstitiale page on Encyclopedia of Life]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q768766}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amphimallon Solstitialis}} Category:Beetles described in 1758 solstitiale Category:Beetles of Europe Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Amphimallon-stub}}