Who would think that a road trip would produce a June bug frenzy at a rest stop?
While traveling I-40 in Tennessee, my husband and I stopped at a rest stop near the junction of Hwy. 81 which is about mile marker 425. I was walking around and noticed a large expanse of lawn near the parking area with hundreds of insects buzzing around about 10 feet high. At first, I thought they were wasps, but as I got closer to the action, I saw that the insects were June bugs or green June beetles (Cotinis nitida). They flew around frantically as if searching for something lost. They did not attack me or each other that I noticed. It did not seem to be a fighting group just a hugely competitive one.
Finally, I found a clue. I spied a ball of beetles – rolling around and flying in and flying out again to the group. They were buzzing and climbing over each other in pursuit of something at the bottom of the pile – a female?
Evidently, this is a mating ritual and happens every year around the end of June, hence the name, June bug. Funny, that I don’t remember ever seeing this spectacle before. Even though we were at a rest stop, this was anything but restful for the June bugs!