Pull up your hood — it's June bug season. But what exactly are these clumsy crawlers?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It's a sound some people associate with the month of June — the thwacking of June bugs hitting the window at night. While some might feel creeped out by these large, flying beetles, others can see the beauty in them. "Like a lot of insects, if you look at them really close up, you see there's a lot more to them than just the goo on your windshield," said University of New Brunswick biology professor Stephen Heard.

June bugs, part of the scarab beetle family, have a heavy body and they can't stop or change directions very well when flying. (Shane Fowler/CBC) "They're pretty cool." What are June bugs? Heard said June bugs are technically a type of beetle in the scarab family.

They are about a centimetre-and-a-half long and quite solid and heavy, which is why they fly around rather clumsily. They have stout legs and big spines, along with a hard exoskeleton and wings. These factors are likely what causes the crunching noise that can be heard when your pet decides to snack on one.

WATCH | What's that knocking at your window? They’re creepy. They’re clunky. They’re crunchy.

And ...

tasty? 16 minutes ago Duration 2:34 These scary looking scarabs spend most of their lives underground and only live above ground for about a week, yet somehow make their time on this planet terrifying. What’s up with the June bug? Their antennae have a club on the end, made up a bunch of little discs, Heard said. Those discs can fan out and are used to sniff plants to eat .