Japanese Beetle Control on Ornamental Plants

/Home/Garden Basics/Plant & Lawn Care/Garden Problems and Solutions/Tree Insects/Chewing Insects/Japanese Beetles

Popillia japonica Newman
The Japanese beetle causes extensive damage to ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers throughout eastern United States. Strategies to manage the larval and adult stages in the United States are estimated to cost more that $460 million a year. A native of Japan, this species was first found in the United States in 1916 near Riverton, New Jersey.

Description
Eggs hatch into white grubs with distinct brown heads and three pairs of thoracic legs. Adults are metallic green or greenish-bronze beetles, about 13 mm long with well-developed copperish front wings (Fig.1). They have two patches of white hairs at the tip of their abdomen and five tufts of white hairs on both sides of their abdomen.

© 2012 College of Agricultural Sciences