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# cockchafer

noun (a cockchafer, cockchafers)

«cockchafer» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A large brown European beetle, also called a May bug or doodlebug, that flies clumsily on spring evenings and buzzes loudly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#m1)
2. Its young, a fat white grub that lives in the soil and eats plant roots. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science (minibeasts, life cycles) the cockchafer shows complete metamorphosis: egg, larva (grub), pupa, adult beetle; the grubs can live underground for three or four years. In the UK and Europe children see them bumping into lit windows in May. Phrases: «May bug», «cockchafer grub», «cockchafer larvae».

### Examples

- A cockchafer bumped against our window in the evening. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x1)
- The cockchafer has fan-shaped feelers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x2)
- Its grubs live underground for years eating roots. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x3)
- People also call the cockchafer a May bug. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x4)
- The cockchafer buzzed loudly and flew in a wobbly line. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x5)
- Farmers once thought cockchafers were a pest because the grubs ate crops. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x6)
- We drew the life cycle of the cockchafer in science. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x7)
- When older, she would take cockchafers and beetles, and stick pins through them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/#x8)

### Note

Said «COCK-chay-fer». «Chafer» is an old word for beetle; «cock» here just means big or male and is not rude. Plural: cockchafers. Although noisy and big, cockchafers do not sting or bite people.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cockchafer» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cockchafer/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cockchafer» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cockchafer.html) on Mova free.