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Japanese Beetles

Japanese Beetles are voracious leaf-feeders and cause damage to a large variety of plants in a homeowner's lawn, landscape and garden. Learn how to identify the damage caused by these pests.

Japanese beetle traps should be placed outside at the first spotting of a Japanese beetle. Try to see if you can get the neighborhood or nearby neighbors to place their traps at the same time for most effective control.

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Facts

Identify Damage

Control Options

Description | Reproduction | Habitat

So... What's a Japanese Beetle?

Japanese Beetles are voracious leaf-feeders and cause damage to a large variety of plants in a homeowner's lawn, landscape and garden.

Adult Japanese Beetles measure about 1/2" in length and have shiny bluish green bodies that appear metallic in the sunlight. The copper or bronze colored wings add to this metallic appearance.

The larvae, often referred to as grubs or white grubs, measure about 3/4" in length and go through several instar or mini-stages.

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Reproduction Patterns of Japanese Beetles

The white grubs or Japanese Beetle grub larvae overwinter down in the ground, and then in the spring, move upward toward plant roots to feed. After developing into a pupal stage at the beginning of summer, the pupae emerges as an adult and begins to feed on the plants

around it.

The adults mate and the female deposits eggs in the soil during the middle to latter part of summer. After the eggs hatch, the larvae will dig into the soil to spend the winter. This life cycle may take a year or two.

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Japanese Beetle's Habitat

First found in the United States in 1916, this insect has spread to almost all areas east of the Mississippi River. Smaller pockets of infestation have been found in areas west of the Mississippi, but they have not infiltrated to the entire western part of the country at this point.

These destructive insects can be found in vegetable gardens, flower gardens, fruit trees, and shrubs. They also infest agricultural fields, golf course greens, and woodlands and parks.

Interestingly, the Japanese Beetle is not a problem in its native country like it is here because in Japan this pest's natural predators keep it under control.

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Images courtesy of Oklahoma State University and Forestry Images.
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