Japanese Beetle

Japanese Beetle

Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was found in North America for the first time in 1916 when it was discovered in the state of New Jersey. It was found in Canada for the first time in 1939 in the Niagara Peninsula of southern Ontario. Currently, the Japanese beetle is distributed throughout much of the eastern U.S. In Canada, it is limited to areas in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

British Columbia and the western States of Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington are presently free from Japanese beetle, and have been identified as having a climate particularly suitable for the establishment of Japanese beetle.

Nursery plants originating in Japanese beetle infested areas will only be allowed into British Columbia and the west coast states mentioned above as described in Directive D-96-15. (CFIA, 1999-10-27). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency actively traps for Japanese beetle in nurseries and at border/transportation points at risk for Japanese beetle introduction. It has never been detected in British Columbia.

Identification:

The adult Japanese beetle is about 1 cm long with a shiny, metallic-green body and bronze-colored outer wings. The beetle has small tufts of white hair along the sides and back of its body. Grubs (larvae) are c-shaped, white in colour and about 2.5 cm long when fully grown.


Japanese beetle Photo Credit: E.Bradford Walker, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Image 4836022. ForestryImages.org. http://www.forestryimages.org/. February 19, 2002.	Japanese beetle larva Photo courtesy Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

Damage:

Japanese beetles are destructive plant pests both as adults and grubs (larval stage). Adults feed on the foliage and fruit of several hundred plant species, including ornamentals, fruit trees, shrubs, vegetables and field crops. Adults leave behind skeletonized leaves and large, irregular holes in leaves. The grubs develop in the soil, feeding on the roots of various plants and grasses and often destroying turf in lawns, parks and golf courses. The Japanese beetle is considered to be the most widespread turf-grass pest in the United States.

Japanese beetle Japanese beetle adults feeding on leaves
Photo Credit: Ronald S. Kelley, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Image 0907032. ForestryImages.org. http://www.forestryimages.org/. February 19, 2002.

Further Information:

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