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Phyllophaga (genus)
Encyclopedia
Phyllophaga is a very large genus
(more than 260 species) of New World
scarab
beetle
s in the subfamily Melolonthinae
. Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and June beetles. They range in size from 12 to 35 mm (0.47244094488189 to 1.4 in) and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour, without prominent markings, and often rather hairy ventrally. These beetles are nocturnal, coming to lights in great numbers.
The generic name is derived from the Greek words phyllon (φυλλον), which means "leaf", and phagos (φαγος), which means "eater", with a plural ending.
Adult chafers eat the leaves and flowers of many deciduous trees, shrubs and other plants. However, their fat, white grubs (reaching 40–45 mm long when full grown) live in the soil
and feed on plant roots, especially those of grasses and cereals, and are occasional pests in pastures, nurseries, gardens, and golf courses. An obvious indication of infestation is the presence of birds, such as crows peeling back the grass to get to the grubs. The injury consists of poorly growing patches that quickly turn brown in dry weather. The grubs can be found immediately below the surface, usually lying in a characteristic comma-like position. Treating the grubs can be very difficult and chemical treatment is more effective as a preventative rather than reactionary measure.
The grubs sometimes attack vegetables and other garden plants, e.g. lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, potatoes, and young ornamental trees. Injury to the roots and rootstock causes small saplings and tender tap-rooted plants like lettuce to wilt suddenly or to show stunted growth and a tendency to shed leaves prematurely. Plants growing in rows are usually attacked in succession as the grubs move along from one plant to the next. Chafer grubs feed below ground for 3–4 years before changing into adult beetles.
are endoparasitoids of these and related beetles. The female flies pursue the beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's back under the elytra where the beetle cannot reach it. The egg hatches and the fly larva enters the body cavity of the beetle, feeding on and eventually killing the host before pupa
ting. Wasp
s in numerous families are parasitoid
s of Phyllophaga grubs, including Pelecinidae, Scoliidae
, and Tiphiidae
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
(more than 260 species) of New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
scarab
Scarabaeidae
The family Scarabaeidae as currently defined consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. The species in this large family are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family is fairly unstable, with numerous competing theories, and new proposals appearing quite...
beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s in the subfamily Melolonthinae
Melolonthinae
Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetles . It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains many familiar species. Some authors include the scarab subfamilies Euchirinae and Pachypodinae as tribes in the Melolonthinae.Unlike some of their relatives, their...
. Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and June beetles. They range in size from 12 to 35 mm (0.47244094488189 to 1.4 in) and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour, without prominent markings, and often rather hairy ventrally. These beetles are nocturnal, coming to lights in great numbers.
The generic name is derived from the Greek words phyllon (φυλλον), which means "leaf", and phagos (φαγος), which means "eater", with a plural ending.
Life cycle
The life cycle takes about one year. Females lay 60 to 75 eggs underground in earthen balls over a period of about two weeks in mid-summer. The white egg at first is elliptical (1.5 mm by 2.1 mm) but becomes more spherical as the larva inside develops. These hatch into white grubs about 18 days after laying. The newly hatched larva is eight mm long and grows to a length of about 40 mm. Whitish with a brownish-black head, the grub has conspicuous brown spiracles along the sides of its body. They molt twice before winter. The third larval stage lasts nearly nine months, after which they pupate.They overwinter as grubs that may become active on warm winter days. They increase their activity in the spring. At night, the larvae may be found on the ground crawling on their backs. This form of locomotion is peculiar to the green June beetle. June beetles pupate in earthen cells several centimeters underground for about 18 days. The brown pupa, about the same shape as the adult, becomes metallic green just before the adult emerges. Adults appear in late spring to summer.Diet
The adults are chafers, feeding on foliage of trees and shrubs. They may cause significant damage when emerging in large numbers. The larvae (called white grubs) feed on the roots of grasses and other plants. The insects pupate underground in the fall and emerge as adults the following spring. To test for the presence of these beetles, drenching an area of lawn with a wet substance will cause larvae to emerge at the surface. The adult beetles are very clumsy, both on land and especially in the air.Adult chafers eat the leaves and flowers of many deciduous trees, shrubs and other plants. However, their fat, white grubs (reaching 40–45 mm long when full grown) live in the soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
and feed on plant roots, especially those of grasses and cereals, and are occasional pests in pastures, nurseries, gardens, and golf courses. An obvious indication of infestation is the presence of birds, such as crows peeling back the grass to get to the grubs. The injury consists of poorly growing patches that quickly turn brown in dry weather. The grubs can be found immediately below the surface, usually lying in a characteristic comma-like position. Treating the grubs can be very difficult and chemical treatment is more effective as a preventative rather than reactionary measure.
The grubs sometimes attack vegetables and other garden plants, e.g. lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, potatoes, and young ornamental trees. Injury to the roots and rootstock causes small saplings and tender tap-rooted plants like lettuce to wilt suddenly or to show stunted growth and a tendency to shed leaves prematurely. Plants growing in rows are usually attacked in succession as the grubs move along from one plant to the next. Chafer grubs feed below ground for 3–4 years before changing into adult beetles.
Enemies
Flies in the family PyrgotidaePyrgotidae
Pyrgotidae is an unusual family of flies , one of only two families of Diptera that lack ocelli. Most species are "picture-winged", as is typical among Tephritoidea, but, unlike other tephritoids they are endoparasitoids; the females pursue scarab beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's...
are endoparasitoids of these and related beetles. The female flies pursue the beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's back under the elytra where the beetle cannot reach it. The egg hatches and the fly larva enters the body cavity of the beetle, feeding on and eventually killing the host before pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
ting. Wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s in numerous families are parasitoid
Parasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
s of Phyllophaga grubs, including Pelecinidae, Scoliidae
Scoliidae
Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, is a small family represented by 6 genera and about 20 species in North America, but they occur worldwide, with a total of around 300 species. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated...
, and Tiphiidae
Tiphiidae
Tiphiidae is a family of large solitary wasps whose larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea....
.
External links
- Phyllophaga spp. on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
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