Japanese Beetle 2021 Fall Wrap Up - Contribute to Their Plant Feeding Survey List

Photo by Peggy Williams

As we've experienced each summer, pest Japanese beetles die out in the fall but aren't forgotten. We know the females have laid scores of eggs in lawns, which in a short time become larvae (white grubs) that feed on turf roots until the ground gets cold sometime in late fall. They remain tucked into the soil below turf roots until next spring to early summer. After pupating in spring these new progeny will emerge from lawns as adult Japanese beetles only to frustrate gardeners for another summer. 

For a visual of the Japanese beetle one year life cycle, see the illustration below.

While they are fresh in your mind, why not take some time now and contribute to a much needed plant survey about Japanese beetle feeding preferences in our region. Up to now, no major organized list exists for those of us who are looking for a quick plant reference guide. Many thanks go to John Murgel, Extension Agent Horticulture and Natural Resources in Douglas County for putting the reporting survey together with other supported input from area gardeners and professionals. 

Below is the link to the survey, it's one plant per survey. This might take you a little time when thinking about all your landscape plants that Japanese beetles like and ones they don't bother. 

No worries if you don't have the exact cultivar or botanical name of the plant, such as blue spruce, just enter blue spruce. If you know it has a botanical and cultivar name - Picea pungens 'Baby Blue Eyes," then please include this on the form. BTW, Japanese beetles do not favor blue spruce or conifers in general.

Many thanks, please pass this information on to other gardeners who may wish to help in the survey.  

Japanese Beetle Plant Survey 

 

Japanese Beetle ONE YEAR Life Cycle, Illustration by APHIS Joel Floyd