May/June Beetles (Phyllophaga spp.)
Common Name: May/June Beetles
Latin Name: Phyllophaga spp.
Appearance:
Adult May/June beetles are 12 to 1 inch long and range in color from reddish-brown to nearly black. In late May and early June, adults are active after dusk.
Beetles are active in early June and are drawn to lights at night. These clumsy flyers frequently clash with windows and stick to screens.
Immature May/June beetles (also known as “white grubs”) have cream-colored bodies with a reddish-brown head and three pairs of legs.
Grubs may grow up to 114 inches long and dwell in the earth, chewing on plant roots with their powerful mandibles (mouth parts).
Host plant
Adults feed on the leaves of broadleaf and coniferous trees. Larvae feed on grass, tree, and shrub roots, and larvae gnaw on roots, turning turf yellow and brown.
Territory:
Adult May/June beetles and related insects are found across North America. Individual species, on the other hand, have a more limited range.
Damages caused by May/June Beetles:
In the spring, may beetles defoliate pecan trees? Small trees bordered by uncultivated soil are especially vulnerable to damage. The insects eat at night on newly opened buds and young leaves. During the day, they are concealed just beneath the ground’s surface.
Life history and habits:
Adults mate in the evening and females return to the ground around daybreak to lay 15 to 20 eggs. After approximately three weeks, the eggs hatch into tiny larvae that feed on roots and decaying plants during the summer before migrating lower (to a depth of up to 1.5 meters) and remaining dormant until the next spring. Adult beetles emerge a few weeks later from the pupal stage. However, they do not leave the earth. The beetles spend the winter beneath the soil before emerging in May or June the following year to feed, mate, and lays eggs.
