Hunting for (Billy) Witches
At University I was bullied, mercilessly, by a small group of people who I will not stoop so low as to name in this forum. Night after night, day after day, I was abused, humiliated and made to feel sad. The only glimmer of pride I can recoup from those dark days is that I stuck to my guns: Billywitches exist.
Here are my main Billywitch assertions, that were to cause me so much grief and heartache:
- They are large, flying insects.
- They live only in one tree in Ipswich, on Rushmere Heath.
- They make the world’s most satisfying ‘thwack’ sound when you hit them with a big stick.
- If they get stuck in your hair they cannot be removed. You have to physically cut them out.
In the following article I hope, and intend, to unequivocally prove that, on the question of Billwitches and their ‘alleged’ attributes, I was right and my tormentors were… the opposite of right, this being ‘wrong’ or ‘incorrect’ (both concepts that are utterly foreign to me).
Let’s tackle these points one-by-one. For a start, here is a picture of a Billywitch:
OK, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Why, that’s nothing but Lucanus Cervus, a common stag beetle’. And you’d be right. Only in Suffolk (and Essex, apparently) they are colloquially known as Billywitches. As proven here. We also call Woodlice ‘Pillbugs’, for reasons that escape me.
Phil 1 - 0 Bullies
Now, those statements:
- They are large, flying insects.
If you would read about Lucanus Servus on any reputable Stag Beetle site (of which there are many) you would understand that they are not only large, but also easily capable of flight.
Phil 2 - 0 Bullies
- They live only in one tree in Ipswich, on Rushmere Heath.
- They make the world’s most satisfying ‘thwack’ sound when you hit them with a big stick.
Now it gets trickier. There is certainly a colony of Billywitches living in the Billywitch Tree on Rushmere Heath in Ipswich. I know this because Daniel Sedgwick and I used to hang out there and hit them with big sticks at dusk, when they were most active.
I can also confirm that they made an inordinately satisfying ‘thwack’ noise when you managed to actually hit one (about once in a thousand swings). However, I cannot prove that the entire species is found only in this one tree. I haven’t seen them anywhere else and that, to me, is fairly conclusive. However, I also appreciate that we live in a world obssessed with scientific facts and ‘truth’. As such, I cannot absolutely prove this and am forced to concede… half a point.
As for the ‘thwack’. Well this is easy. Any doubters can come to Ipswich with me. We’ll journey to Rushmere Heath and seek out the fabled Billywitch tree. And then we will ‘thwack’ until we can ‘thwack’ no more… indeed, until we are completely ‘thwacked’ out.
Phil 3 - ½ Bullies
- If they get stuck in your hair they cannot be removed. You have to physically cut them out.
This is the one that concerned me the most, the hardest to prove. Growing up, it was a well-known ‘fact’ but having fruitlessly scoured the Internet for proof, I was on the verge of writing this off as an Urban Legend. That is, until I found the following two lonely references from a Google search (re-sized to fit):
Now, you may think that this is tenuous. Not being familiar with Bebo, I assume that the mysterious Sarah (or ‘Too Sexy for Usher’, as I believe her yoofspeak name translates to) has set a trendy quiz for all of her friends to complete. Clicking on the link is of no help, as it simply takes you to the Bebo sign-up page. However, I am content to work with what we have. I have, through a long and wearisome process, managed to translate her question. The results are startling (emphasis added):
What is a Billywitch? a) Buff Billy from Needham b) condom c) Bug that gets stuck in hair d) Sim on Crack (?) e) Dave when thrown in a bush
I believe that answers ‘a’ and ‘e’ can be discounted, as these are obvious references to friends and acquaintances (e.g. ‘Buff’ (or ‘good looking’) Billy from Needham Market and the mysterious ‘Dave’ who gets thrown in bushes). Option ‘b’ is an obvious by-product of giving a hormonal teenage girl internet access. ’d’ appears to be nonsense, but is probably another reference that would only be understood by the family or friends of ‘Sarah’.
If we can accept that ‘Sarah’ is a reliable source, and I believe that she is, then this question can be boiled down to:
Question: What is a Billywitch?
Answer: (a) bug that gets stuck in (your) hair.
Still not conclusive enough for you? How about this, from the Myspace profile of some retard named Winter Fire:
As such, I declare this particular point resoundingly proven, and have great pleasure in declaring the final score:
Phil 4 - ½ Bullies
The years have passed, the bruises have faded, but the victory, finally, is mine.
December 1st, 2007 at 8:18 am
Phil, I remember playing with stag beetles at primary school, I’m sorry they do exist outside your one tree. I can’t speak for any of the other bullies, but this bully argued that you were talking rubbish that an insect lived only in one tree in Ipswich, and billywitches were probably known by their actual name elsewhere. I couldn’t argue about any other issues, because they are down to personal experience. As such, I maintain that you deserved all those lonely nights full of tears. Bully 1 - Phil 0.
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:51 am
Phil as usual your talking gibberish. I accept that stag beetles might be called billywitches in Ipswich, though someone really should teach them to speak english, but as to only coming from one tree in Ipswich nonsense. I can assure you stag beetles are found elsewhere in the world. As every englishman, and indeed austrailian, knows the most satisfying thwack is the sound of leather on willow, and all you proved is that they can get in your hair not that they need to be cut out. So really its Phil 2 Bullies 3 and all you’ve really proved is people from Ipswich can’t handle english as a language and that stag beetles can fly well done Phil well done.
December 4th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Further research in an attempt to prove even more conclusively that bullies never prosper has led to this interesting (and contradictory) entry on the always-entertaining ‘Spiders vs. Beetles’ forum:
I wonder if ‘Damen’ still has his jar of dead cockchafers?
December 4th, 2007 at 6:46 am
Surely the fact that you don’t know the difference between a stag beetle (big huge pincers) and a cockchafer (no pincers what so ever and looks completely different) is reason enough to bully you? This complete lack of knowledge or research (took me 2 seconds to find billy witches or cockchafers on wikipedia) discounts any arguement you put forward and throws into doubt the fact that you have ever seen one.
Also the description on wikipedia mentions no little hairs like velcro, the ictures shown show it to be quite smooth and the one that I removed from my kitchen in May also seemed smooth. I doubt that you would have to cut it out of your hair.
My points still stand anyway is that all you’ve proved is that people in East Anglia still refer to things as if we lived in the 17th Century, that cockchafers can fly and that Phil Saunders doesn’t know what a billy witch looks like!
December 4th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Well I didn’t minutely examine the little gits, I just thwacked them out of the air pronto in case they got in my hair. Plus, it was almost dark and they were probably quite annoyed at being royally thwacked, so forgive me if I didn’t stick my nose in too far for a detailed anatomical investigation.
Anyway, this is my website and my scoring method, so I declare the final scores:
Phil: 1,000,000
Bullies: 0
Big Joe: -1,000,000 (for sucking)
December 4th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Wow…searching “billywitch” in Google throws up your site as top result on the second page! Something to be proud of.
A German lady with an enthusiasm for stag beetles reckons you’re both right:
http://maria.fremlin.de/stagbeetles/nomes.html
“However “Billywitch” is also used indiscriminately for the common or May chafer, (Melolontha melolontha), the summer or June chafer, (Amphimallon solstitialis) and the rose chafer (Cetonia aurata)”
So in Suffolk if its a big flying beetle it is always a Billy Witch. Apparently Thunder Bugs are the same thing but it sounds too much like an awesome cartoon to say seriously.
Back to lurking..
December 5th, 2007 at 9:02 am
-1,000,000 What a big example of ‘its my ball and I’m going home’.
So in Suffolk any flying beetle is a billywitch? are all birds charleysatans? All lizards andywarlocks? I think I now udnerstand your joy of world of warcraft Saunders, the strange olde worlde speech and belief in evil powers must be like a trip home.
February 25th, 2008 at 12:18 am
billywitches are actually more commonly known by the rest of britain as maybugs. not stag beetles.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
A maybug is another name for a cockchafer, so, without wanting to open a whole new can of worms, I think it’s safe to assume that ‘billywitch’ is a generic term applied to stag beetles and/or cockchafers…
May 13th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
i can vouch for the fact the bloomin things get stuck in hair as around two minutes ago i heard a humming sound then felt something pitch on my head, i screamed (like the big girl i am ha ha) and then ripped it off (it took a few maniacal attempts resulting in a sore head) . then it stared at me for a few seconds before getting the courage to flick it out the window…. shudder, my window is now shut!! im still shaking now!
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
Contrary to previous posts, we here in Suffolk do not think Stag Beetles are Billywitches. What we know as Billywitches are in fact a Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha).
June 1st, 2008 at 1:54 am
bollocks r they only in ipswich i have bout 3 in my garden evry nite nd i live in trimley bout 1/2 hour from ipswich
June 16th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
billywitch only refers to stag beetles in most areas, since it was once belived that they dropped hot coals on houses with their “antlers”.
and by the sounds of things, u were hitting cockchafers because stag beetles are very rare and wud not be flying in such huge groups, especially from a single tree.
and stag beetles are harmless and should not be hit with anything!
June 16th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Maybe stag beetles are so rare because people in Ipswich can’t resist hitting then with sticks?
Besides which it’s obviously working when was the last time you heard of a house fire caused by stag beetles dropping hot coals? Obviously man has taught them a valuable lesson about who is in charge on this planet. But beware stag beetles have short memories so they could start burning down houses at any time.
So I say hail, hail to you backward folk of Suffolk protecting us from this unseen menace! Hail to you indeed.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Your bullies were clearly ignorant simpletons who have never been to Rushmere Heath. had i learnt of this slur on your name sooner i would most certainly have lent my voice in support of your claim, having also personally engaged the beasts in company of the afore mentioned Daniel Sedgwick and on one particularly memorable night been accosted by a suffolk police constable who seemed to feel that our use of badminton rackets constituted a breach of ‘animal rights’ or at the least was a touch ‘heavy handed’. i would venture that a possible future post on this blog could tackle the issue of when rozzers such as this cross the line from being helpful pillars of the community to meddling busybodies.
For the time being i would humour the claim that Billywitches exist beyond this one particular tree until there is full scientific evidence or a wikipedia entry that suggests otherwise, although i think it is beyond doubt that this could/should be considered the flagship Billywitch tree.
it is also true that to date i have only found one other insect that makes an (almost) equally satisfying ‘thwacking’ noise when struck with a racket / bat or stick: an italian beast (not entirely dissimilar to the Billywitch -except vivid green in colour) called a ‘Cimice’ (pronounced chimiche)
February 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Indeed… a Cimice looks like it’ll thwack proper bo, like:
April 30th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I have to say that I have read most of the replies, and the people talking about Ipswich lads not speaking correctly need to pull the huge stick that they have inserted in themselves. Most of us call them Billywitches, just as many other regions have their own names for many other things. It does not mean it is wrong, it is just what we refer to them as. For instance many people call their vacuum a Hoover, when in fast Hoover is a make of vacuum. So for all those haters with nothing better to do then to look like a complete d**k on a guys forum who is just helping clear things up, how about you get f**ked and grow a pair.
Good day =)
April 30th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Wow… that’s the first time a stranger has got irate on my behalf. It is clear that Billywitches inspire strong emotions.
Anyway, yeah… f**k you haters.
May 2nd, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I once grew a pear. Is that close enough?
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:28 pm
we had Billy witches down our chimeney in Colchester when i was a kid made scarrey screams
Wikipedea the may bug for picture
we were terrified when they were flying around
probebly due to the oak trees over the road
called May bug or
spang beetle
The Cockchafer
The cockchafer (colloquially called may bug, billy witch, or spang beetle, particularly in East Anglia) is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the family Scarabaeidae.
Once abundant throughout Europe and a major pest in the periodical years of “mass flight”, it had been nearly eradicated in the middle of the 20th century through extensive use of pesticides and has even been locally exterminated in many regions. However, since a change in pest control beginning in the 1980s, its numbers have started to grow again. As they don’t tolerate pollution well, their presence is usually a marker of low pollution levels.[citation needed]
Contents
1 Taxonomy
2 Description
3 Life cycle
4 Pest control and history
5 Cultural references
6 References
7 External links
[edit] Taxonomy
There are three species of European cockchafers:
The common cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha
The forest cockchafer, Melolontha hippocastani
The large cockchafer, Melolontha pectoralis, which is very rare and occurs only in south-western Germany.
[edit] Description
Imagines (adults) of the common cockchafer reach sizes of 25–30 mm; the forest cockchafer is a bit smaller (20–25 mm). The two species can best be distinguished by the form of their pygidium (the back end): it is long and slender in the common cockchafer, but shorter and knob-shaped at the end in the forest cockchafer. Both have a brown colour.
Close up of a male cockchafer, showing the seven “leaves” on the antennae.Male cockchafers have seven “leaves” on their antennae, whereas the females have only six.
The species M. pectoralis looks similar, but its pygidium is rounded. The cockchafer should not be confused with the similar European chafer (Rhizotrogus majalis), which has a completely different life cycle, nor with the June beetles (Phyllophaga spp.), which are native to North America, nor with the summer chafer (or “European June bug”, Amphimallon solstitiale), which emerges in June and has a two-year life cycle. (All of these are Scarabaeidae, have white grubs, and are turf pests.)
[edit] Life cycle
A female cockchaferAdults appear at the end of April or in May and live only for about five to seven weeks. After about two weeks, the female begins laying eggs, which she buries about 10 to 20 cm deep in the earth. She may do this several times until she has laid between 60 and 80 eggs. The common cockchafer lays its eggs in fields, whereas the Forest Cockchafer stays in the vicinity of the trees. The preferred food for adults is oak leaves, but they will also feed on conifer needles.
The larvae, known as “white grubs” or “chafer grubs”, hatch after some four to six weeks. They feed on plant roots, for instance potato roots. The grubs develop in the earth for some three to four years, in colder climates even five years, and grow continually to a size of about 4–5 cm, before they pupate in early autumn and develop into a cockchafer in some six weeks.
The cockchafer overwinters in the earth at depths between 20 and 100 cm. They work their way to the surface only in spring.
Because of their long development time as larvae, cockchafers appear in a cycle of every three or four years; the years vary from region to region. There is a larger cycle of some 30 years superimposed, in which they occur (or rather, used to occur) in unusually high numbers (1000s).
[edit] Pest control and history
This white grub of a cockchafer was about 5 cm long.
Melolontha melolontha larva.Both the grubs and the imagines have a voracious appetite and thus have been and sometimes continue to be a major problem in agriculture and forestry. In the pre-industrialized era, the main mechanism to control their numbers was to collect and kill the adult beetles, thereby interrupting the cycle. They were once very abundant: in 1911, more than 20 million individuals were collected in 18 km² of forest.
Collecting adults was an only moderately successful method. In the Middle Ages, pest control was rare, and people had no effective means to protect their harvest. This gave rise to events that seem bizarre from a modern perspective. In 1320, for instance, cockchafers were brought to court in Avignon and sentenced to withdraw within three days onto a specially designated area, otherwise they would be outlawed. Subsequently since they failed to comply, they were collected and killed. (Similar animal trials also occurred for many other animals in the Middle Ages.)[1]
In some areas and times, cockchafers were even served as food. A 19th century recipe from France for cockchafer soup reads: “roast one pound of cockchafers without wings and legs in sizzling butter, then cook them in a chicken soup, add some veal liver and serve with chives on a toast”. And a German newspaper from Fulda from the 1920s tells of students eating sugar-coated cockchafers. A cockchafer stew is referred to in W.G. Sebald’s novel The Emigrants. Another recipe for cockchafers is to boil them for 10 mins and serve them hot wth lemon juice in fresh pancakes.
May bug on a windowsill near Settle, North Yorkshire.Only with the modernization of agriculture in the 20th century and the invention of chemical pesticides did it become possible to effectively combat the cockchafer. Combined with the transformation of many pastures into agricultural land, this has resulted in a decrease of the cockchafer to near-extinction in some areas in Europe in the 1970s. Since then, agriculture has generally reduced its use of pesticides. Because of environmental and public health concerns (pesticides may enter the food chain and thus also the human body) many chemical pesticides have been phased out in the European Union and worldwide. In recent years, the cockchafer’s numbers have been increasing again, causing damage to over 1,000 km² of land all over Europe. At present, no chemical pesticides are approved for use against cockchafers, and only biological measures are utilised for control: for instance, pathogenic fungi or nematodes that kill the grubs are applied to the soil.
[edit] Cultural references
Max and Moritz shaking cockchafers from a tree.The cockchafer is featured in a German children’s rhyme similar to the English Ladybird, Ladybird:
Maikäfer flieg…
Dein Vater ist im Krieg
Deine Mutter ist in Pommerland
Pommerland ist abgebrannt
Maikäfer flieg!
Cockchafer fly…
Your father is at war
Your mother is in Pomerania
Pomerania is all aflame
Cockchafer fly!
The verse dates back to the Thirty Years’ War in the first half of the 17th Century, in which Pomerania was pillaged and suffered heavily. Since World War II, it is associated in Germany also with the closing months of that war, when Russian troops advanced into Eastern Germany.
The cockchafer was the basis for the ‘fifth trick’ in the well-known illustrated German book Max and Moritz dating from 1865.
Cockchafers also play a part in Hans Christian Anderson’s version of Thumbelina[2]
There have been five Royal Navy ships named HMS Cockchafer.
[edit] References
^ Barton, K.: Verfluchte Kreaturen: Lichtenbergs “Proben seltsamen Aberglaubens” und die Logik der Hexen- und Insektenverfolgung im “Malleus Maleficarum”, in Joost, U.; Neumann, A. (eds): Lichtenberg-Jahrbuch 2004, p. 11ff, Saarbrücken 2004 (SDV Saarländische Druckerei und Verlag), ISBN 3930843870. In German.
^ http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Thu.shtml
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melolontha melolontha
Wikispecies has information related to: Cockchafer
Cockchafers and other chafers
Der Maikäfer, from the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt (German)
Images (German)
Pests: The Cockchafer with links to images and French and English text.
Biological Pest Control Research and risk assessment on the biological control of insect pests in the EU.
Fact sheet on some other chafers that also have white grubs and are turf pests.
Elegy by German folksinger Reinhard Mey on the vanished cockchafers of days gone by: Es gibt keine Maikäfer mehr
Maikäfer flieg
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockchafer”
Categories: Scarabaeidae | Beetles of Europe
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