Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab

Scarabaeidae

The family Scarabaeidae as currently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. The species in this large family are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family is fairly unstable, with numerous competing theories, and new proposals appearing quite...

 beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

s (family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Scarabaeidae). It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains many familiar species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. Some authors include the scarab subfamilies Euchirinae

Euchirinae

Euchirinae is a subfamily of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.They are sometimes included in Subfamily Melolonthinae as Tribe Euchirini.- Genera and species :This subfamily contains 3 genera with 16 species:...

 and Pachypodinae as tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

s in the Melolonthinae.

Unlike some of their relatives, their habitus

Morphology (biology)

In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

 is usually not bizarre. They resemble the Rutelinae in being fairly plesiomorphic in outward appearance. Like in many Scarabaeidae, males have large fingered antenna

Antenna (biology)

Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....

e, while those of the females are small and somewhat knobby. In the Melolonthinae, this sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...

 is particularly pronounced. Many species have striking – though rarely brilliant or iridescent – hues and bold patterns of hairs.

Being often quite sizeable and swarming in numbers at certain times, for example the Amphimallon, Phyllophaga

Phyllophaga (genus)

Phyllophaga is a very large genus of New World scarab beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae. Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and June beetles. They range in size from and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour,...

and Polyphylla

Polyphylla

Polyphylla is a genus of scarab beetle with most species living in western North America. They typically reside in forests and orchards with most being identified by white elytra scales forming stripes. The adult beetles are often attracted to lights. Polyphylla lay their eggs on soil near plants...

"june beetle

June beetle

June beetle is the common name for several scarab beetles that appear around June:In subfamily Cetoniinae:* Cotinis nitida of the southeastern United States...

s" or the Melolontha

Melolontha

Melolontha is a genus of beetles in the family Scarabaeidae. The European cockchafers belong to this genus.-Taxonomy:Linnaeus called the European cockchafer Scarabaeus melolontha...

cockchafer

Cockchafer

The cockchafer is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the family Scarabaeidae....

s – all from tribe Melolonthini – feature widely in folklore. Some Melolonthinae are economically significant pests. Other than the Melolonthini, the most diverse tribes are the Ablaberini, Liparetrini, Macrodactylini, Pachydemini and Sericini.

Systematics

According to various authors, the living Melolonthinae are divided into about 20-30 tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

s. Some notable genera

Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with LMI and Texas Instruments...

 and species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 are also listed here:
In addition, a prehistoric tribe, the Cretomelolonthini, is only known from fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s.

Several genera are of unclear relations; they are not yet firmly placed in a tribe:
"Anonetus" and "Tryssus", both used by Erichson in 1847, are nomina nuda. Holophylla and Hoplorida are of uncertain validity.

Whether the scarab beetle

Scarab beetle

Scarab beetle may refer to these species: * A beetle of the family Scarabaeidae* Scarabaeus sacer, the dung beetle species worshipped by the ancient Egyptians as an embodiment of the god Khepri...

 Xenaclopus belongs in the present subfamily is doubtful. Alosimus, generally held to be a blister beetle

Blister beetle

Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. There are approximately 7,500 known species worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be...

 of the Lyttini and not at all close to the scarabs, was placed in the Melolonthinae by entomologist Werner Heinz Muche.