The summer of love

London - The hogweed bonking beetle needs little encouragement to live up to its nickname.

It does, after all, spend most of its life mating - even when feeding, resting and flying.

But after the sensationally warm spring, the bonking beetle is expected to emerge earlier than ever this year for the start of a marathon summer of love.

The best known of Britain’s soldier beetles, frequently seen in clusters on the common hogweed and wildflowers, normally appears at the beginning of July.

But, with summer in the insect world “incredibly advanced” this year because of the dry, hot spring, it “must emerge soon - and it just can’t wait to copulate”, said Matthew Oates of the National Trust.

Scientists are unsure why the insects, whose polite name is the common red soldier beetle, spend so much time mating.

One theory is that the males are simply trying to impregnate as many females as possible before they die, usually by September.

Another is that they stay coupled to females, which lay eggs immediately after mating, to keep other males at bay. - Daily Mail