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Japanese beetle
Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica)
Illinois Status: common, nonnative
FEATURES
The Japanese beetle is about three-fourths to one and one-fourth inches in length. Its upper body is metallic blue-green with red-brown coloration on the wing covers. There are white, hairlike patches on the lower abdomen. The larva is a white grub.
BEHAVIORS
The Japanese beetle may be found throughout Illinois. It is active mainly late June through August. Beetles undergo complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa, adult). The eggs are laid in soil in grassy areas. Overwintering is in the larval stage. The adult eats leaves, flowers and fruits of many plants, including ornamentals, fruit trees, corn and soybeans. They are very damaging to many plants. The larvae eat plant roots. The Japanese beetle was accidentally brought to the eastern United States on nursery stock from Japan in 1916. It has now spread to most of the eastern United States.
Illinois Range
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Division: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Habitats
Aquatic Habitats
bottomland forests; marshes; peatlands; swamps; wet prairies and fens
Woodland Habitats
bottomland forests; southern Illinois lowlands; upland deciduous forests
Prairie and Edge Habitats
black soil prairie; dolomite prairie; edge; gravel prairie; hill prairie; sand prairie; shrub prairie
