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Adult Cockchafers are found on and around trees and shrubs in gardens, parks, field hedgerows and woodland margins, feeding on leaves and flowers. The larvae, sometimes called rookworms, live in the soil and eat the roots of vegetables and grasses.
In this manner, what do may bugs do to humans?
You can often see cockchafers on May evenings buzzing around the garden, which is why they are often known as the 'May bug'. As large, noisy insects they can be a little frightening, but are actually harmless to humans. However, they can considerably damage garden plants and crops.
Keeping this in consideration, what is the purpose of the May bug?
Until pesticides started controlling them in the Twentieth Century, cockchafers were a serious agricultural pest. The grubs (sometimes called rookworms as they are prized by corvids) can devastate cereal crops. The adults eat leaves and flowers.
So, when you next see a May bug, doodlebug, chovy or Billy witch, remember – however alarming it may look, it isn't a cockroach, it isn't going to sting you, and while it may do some damage to your garden, it won't harm you.