An Entomological Tale for Canada Day

While working on my MSc in Ottawa back in 2008, my wife-to-be and I decided it would be appropriate to celebrate Canada Day on Parliament Hill with thousands of our fellow Canadians¹. After spending a beautiful day taking in our country’s history with a full range of festivities including the RCMP Musical Ride, a stellar concert series that ran all afternoon, and speeches by politicians and other notable Canadians, we settled on the main lawn in front of the Peace Tower for an evening concert series and some killer fireworks.

European Chafer (Amphimallon majalis) Photo by Dave K.B. Cheung

As the sun set behind our nation’s capital and the stage lights illuminated the cheering crowd of Canucks, I began to notice a buzz rippling across the celebration. And by buzz, I literally mean buzz: European chafers (Amphimallon majalis) were emerging en masse from the trampled turf and stampeding² towards the stage like preteens at a Bieber concert!

If you haven’t seen several thousand people packed into a tight, dark space suddenly become bombarded by hordes of large, poorly flying beetles, well, you haven’t truly lived. With insects pinging off their heads, backs and beverages, there was much shrieking, swatting and stamping as my fellow Canadians dealt with their new neighbours. I even had one concerned citizen “save me” from a “wasp” that had landed on the back of my neck!

I quickly became more interested in watching the “Night of the Beetle Rising” than the act on stage, although it wasn’t too long until the beetles had made their way above the crowd and onto the stage for an encore performance among the bright stage lights. Soon the music ended, the lights went down and the fireworks went off, capping an amazing day and likely confusing the hell out of any straggling beetles.

As you celebrate Canada Day with friends and family, remember to watch for all the insects that help make this country a great place to be an entomologist!

Happy Canada Day!

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1- An experience I recommend every Canadian (or any Canadian wannabes) partake in at least once in their life!

2- OK, stampede might be a little melodramatic, but it was intense, believe you me!