Squishy by Kelly Westhoff

we all started out
squishy like a grub before
growing June bug shells

by Kelly Westhoff

June bugs appear for just a short time each year. Even so, their bulky shells and clumsy movements make quite an impression as they stumble around trying to secure a place in the light.

These scarab beetles might seem like they have a very short life, but in reality their life span can last years. Most of a June bug’s life is spent underground. Once it hatches from the egg, the larva takes the form of a white grub. The grub feeds on roots, descending deeper into the soil when winter comes and rising closer to the surface in warmer months. A June bug grub can spend up to three years feeding in the ground before becoming a pupa and emerging as the awkward adult beetle with the hard, rounded shell that we readily recognize.

Further reading:

‘Pest . . . or snack? June bugs are the ‘croutons of the sky’’, 2021, Manning, P., Dal News, available: https://www.dal.ca/news/2021/05/26/pest——-or-snack–june-bugs-are-the–croutons-of-the-sky-.html

‘June bug’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, available: https://www.britannica.com/animal/June-beetle

Author bio:

Kelly Westhoff loves fitting words into the 5-7-5 format of traditional haiku. For her, haiku is a practice in mindfulness. She enjoys discovering parallels between her life and nature. She lives in Minnesota where the ever-changing seasons are a constantly-renewing source of inspiration. Find more of her haiku on Instagram @KellyWesthoffWrites.

Read more sciku by Kelly: ‘The Sound of a Worm’ and ‘Your Roots’.