JAPANESE
BEETLE - often reported to be present in gardens
with daylilies but not necessarily feeding on them
significantly, perhaps preferring other plants, Popillia
japonica is an introduced pest which was first seen
in North America in 1916 in New Jersey. It now occurs
in China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and portions
of the USA and Canada. The adults eat flowers, foliage
and fruits of around 275 different plants. The larvae
feed on roots, especially grasses. Japanese Beetles
are present in at least parts of the following States:
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont,
Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The adult
is oval in shape and a little less than half an inch
in length, metallic green with copper wing covers
which are marked with lengthwise fine stripes. The
grubs are whitish with brown heads and usually measure
under one inch; their damage is detailed under WHITE
GRUB. The
adults feed during the day, preferring those which
are warm and sunny, and chew on foliage and flowers,
with often just the veins of leaves remaining. They
tend to feed in groups, and there is one generation
a year. Control measures include handpicking (shaking
beetles from plants early in the morning when they
are sluggish and then destroying them), and applying
milky spore disease or beneficial nematodes to turf
to reduce the numbers of larvae. Neighborhood campaigns
are often recommended. |
