Japanese Beetle
Popillia japonica
Summary 6
The beetle species Popillia japonica is commonly known as the Japanese beetle. It is about 15 millimetres (0.6 in) long and 10 millimetres (0.4 in) wide, with iridescent copper-colored elytra and green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, but in America it is a serious pest of about 200 species of plants, including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees and others.
Morphology 7
Like all beetles, Japanese beetles have a hard exoskeleton and chewing mouthparts (Barnes, 1987). The adult beetle is 10-12 mm long with a metallic body (usually green or copper) and bronze wing covers (Fleming, 1972). These hardened wing covers are actually modified wings called elyptra (Meglitsch andSchram, 1991).
The Japanese beetle egg is white and almost translucent. It's shape is spherical and it is about 2 mm in diameter(www.ncsu.edu, 1).
The larvae are white grubs with a grayish cast to them because of the aggregation of soil and fecal material in their hindgut. They have a dark brown head and three pairs of legs. They are characterized by their "C"-shape form, grow to be about an inch long, and can be distinguished from other larvae by their "V"-shaped pattern of spines underneath their abdomen (Grupp, 1).
The pupa is usually 13 mm long and tan colored right up until the adult emerges, when it turns metallic green. Its appendages are pressed to the body, but otherwise it resembles the adult form(www.nscu.edu, 1).
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Habitat 8
Japanese beetles can apparently live anywhere there is sufficient foliage to feed on. They are not limited to forests or grasslands, but often live on farms, cities, and even your garden.
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
Sources and Credits
- (c) Kurt Andreas, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/42227089@N00/5406599758
- (c) BlueRidgeKitties, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4718524876_479ca16d7f.jpg
- (c) Kent McFarland, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7524188220_074473da10_o.jpg
- (c) Tim Hite, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tim Hite
- (c) Matt Muir, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://lh6.ggpht.com/-E2rrMAtRyBQ/T-evq_CzofI/AAAAAAAAKoI/X810R1q5kAU/s1024/P1090074.JPG
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popillia_japonica
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31417238
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31417237
