Guide to identifying the Japanese Beetle
March 9, 2023
Mesa County has declared the Japanese Beetle a public nuisance and needs help from the community to ensure the local agriculture economy is not affected by the damaging pest. Here’s what to look for when identifying a Japanese Beetle.
Adult Japanese Beetle
- Has an oval form
- About 7/16-inch in length
- Generally metallic green with coppery-brown wing covers, which don’t quite cover the tip of the abdomen.
- Along the sides are five patches of whitish hairs.
- The antennae are clubbed at the end and may spread to a fan-like form.
Japanese Beetle Larvae (a type of white grub that feeds on the roots of grasses)
- They have a creamy white body with a dark head and well-developed legs.
- Usually, the body curves into a “C-shape.”
- They are best distinguished from other white grubs by closely examining the pattern of hairs on the hind end of the abdomen, which forms a distinctive V-shape.
If you find what you think is a Japanese Beetle, you can get ahold of CSU Extension Services, 2775 Highway 50, and send them a picture or take it in for identification.
Photograph courtesy of David Shetlar, the Ohio State University.
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![Japanese Beetle showed in six different stages of its life cycle on a blue background. From left to right: a tiny white egg, two small off-white C-shaped grubs, an adult beetle appearing in a white film, and an adult Japanese Beetle red/brown on the back with a metallic green head.](https://nginx.f2-live.mcco01.us2.amazee.io/sites/default/files/styles/max_width_900/public/2023-03/life_cycle_of_japanese_beetle_website.png)