{"id":320,"date":"2010-10-06T10:28:32","date_gmt":"2010-10-06T14:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/umaine.edu\/homeowner-ipm\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T12:57:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T16:57:43","slug":"frequent-japanese-beetles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/frequent-specimens\/frequent-japanese-beetles\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Beetles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Japanese beetle<\/strong>, Popillia japonica<\/em>, is a scarab beetle about 3\/8\u201c long.\u00a0 The head and thorax are metallic green and the elytra (outer wing covers) are copper-colored.\u00a0 Adult feeding damage appears as lacy leaves, as in the photos below.\u00a0 The beetles feed on over 400 plants including rose, raspberry, bean, grape and blueberry. The adults are good fliers and can move from one area to another in large swarms. When threatened, adults will feign death, dropping from the plant.\u00a0 For information regarding management<\/strong> of Japanese beetles, please visit our fact sheet located at: https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/ipddl\/publications\/5037e\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The larval stage of the Japanese beetle is a C-shaped white grub similar in appearance to the June beetle, rose chafer and European chafer.\u00a0 Japanese beetle grubs can be a major turf pest.\u00a0 A good indicator of a white grub<\/b><\/a> infestation is skunks digging up the lawn. White grub treatment threshold is typically 8-10 grubs per square foot.<\/p>\n\n\t\t