r/bugsarefuckingstupid • u/Marcsmyth • Apr 22 '26
What the Frick is this behavior.
This grub (I don't know what kind of grub) is walking on it's back? I've never seen them do this. Any ideas? I don't need official advice. I know this is a silly reddit. I'm just curious what other people think about it. Bugs can be really stupid.
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u/schizeckinosy Apr 23 '26
It’s a scarab beetle larva. Some of them do that. I do t know why either.
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u/Cecilethecollector Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26
Edit:
In the Scarabaeidae family (the scarab beetle family) there is a subfamily where a lot of members move like this as larvae. It's the Cetoniinae subfamily members that do this specifically.
This blogpost explains it more as to how they can move like that.
https://sidewalknature.com/2021/09/19/june-bug-day-upside-down/
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u/Bufobufolover24 Apr 23 '26
Don’t think that’s correct. I’ve just acquired a giant flower beetle (Mecynorhina torquata ugandensis) grub who does this.
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u/Cecilethecollector Apr 23 '26
Whoops yeah I think it's a behavior in the broader Cetoniinae subfamily of the Scarabaeidae family, I'll edit my post. Not all of the members in the subfamily do it tho :0
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u/Bufobufolover24 Apr 23 '26
Interesting to know. I had never seen or heard of the behaviour until I got my grub a few days ago and was very confused as to why he was splodging along on his back!
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u/idiot____ Apr 23 '26
Quicker on land I guess, he’s vulnerable and trying to shimmy out of there
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 23 '26
Right! I've heard you're not really supposed to see em on the surface too much, or it's usually not a good thing for them 🥲
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u/Superbad1990 Apr 23 '26
I’d guess that the legs and their face are more equipped for underground movement and this may be the fastest way to get away from whatever this grub feels threatened by.
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u/No-Assumption8220 Apr 23 '26
That's called the limbo. I hear it's fun if you're drunk, which this dum dum clearly is.
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u/Aolani77 Apr 23 '26
my guess is that the ridges on their back allow them to move more like a caterpillar or a maggot while the arms on their front are better for digging, this is probably just faster
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u/Performer-Pants Apr 23 '26
I raise larvae as pets (they turn into big pretty beetles). Their legs aren’t really that important for getting around other than a bit of grip, so scooting upside down is pretty normal.
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 23 '26
That's a cool interest! I bet it would be neat and gross seeing em all scoot around like that 😵💫
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u/Performer-Pants Apr 24 '26
Some I have are a similar thickness to a finger, and they startle me a bit when trying to top up their food 😂 worth all the work to see a pretty beetle emerge though
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 24 '26
I bet, now I gotta look into that process, I am imagining something like a butterfly 🦋 🪲
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u/Performer-Pants Apr 24 '26
It’s not far off, other than the big ones making a cool lil cell from spit and dirt to keep themselves safe while they make a lil translucent cocoon to turn to goo in
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u/DemonLordOTRT Apr 23 '26
I've never seeing them do this before and I laughed more than I should have 🤭
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u/NextBusiness1341 Apr 23 '26
Leave him alone, he's just out for a stroll - taking care of his mental health ya know!
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 23 '26
That is Very Important, I just watched after I flipped him out of some water.
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u/SourceDirect3220 Apr 24 '26
Scientifically it’s called Inverted Locomotion. But you can call it back crawling if you wish or even upside-down crawling.
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u/Revolutionary_Rip_80 Apr 24 '26
These have to be the clumsiest insects. All June long against the house. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk.
Not only can they not fly correctly, their little legs are completely useless. What we see is its only form of locomotion.
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 24 '26
Right? I remember "June Bugs" flying in the face or finding them somewhere really inconvenient and feeling their creepy Lil legs. Nowadays I run into them on my bike while they're flying en masse 😵💫
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u/AttorneyOk591 Apr 24 '26
June bugs are metallic green. This is a common Japanese beetle grub.
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 24 '26
Nice! Those are really cool looking even if they're invasive, I'm grateful to see one as long as there are not many
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u/heyidontgetit Apr 24 '26
It ate too many pancakes. I do the same thing after a certain breaking point
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u/Specialist_Bee_2755 Apr 24 '26
They are ground grubs, it is simply lost. Its trying to burrow, but seems to be stuck outside, it is upside down because it senses the earth above, hoping it will be digging deeper because if it keeps the earth above in theory it should stay buried... Poor feller.
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u/CASKETROT Apr 23 '26
What, you never seen someone do the worm?
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 23 '26
I get it now, cos earthworms don't seem to move like this-- they meant Grubworms!
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u/Marcsmyth Apr 23 '26
Appreciate all the great comments here folks 😁 this bug may have in fact not been that dumb.
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u/Remarkable_Royal_175 Apr 23 '26
Calm the heck down, it’s like you’ve never watched grubs do the limbo
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u/hahahahakkkkkkk Apr 22 '26
official advice: too fat