cockchafer
part of speech
noun (a cockchafer, cockchafers)
meaning for a pupil
1) A large brown European beetle, also called a May bug or doodlebug, that flies clumsily on spring evenings and buzzes loudly. tree →
2) Its young, a fat white grub that lives in the soil and eats plant roots. tree →
sense 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 →
- The cockchafer has fan-shaped feelers. tree →
- Its grubs live underground for years eating roots. tree →
- People also call the cockchafer a May bug. tree →
- The cockchafer buzzed loudly and flew in a wobbly line. tree →
- Farmers once thought cockchafers were a pest because the grubs ate crops. tree →
- We drew the life cycle of the cockchafer in science. tree →
- When older, she would take cockchafers and beetles, and stick pins through them. tree →
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.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «cockchafer» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.