Return of the Japanese Beetles

The arrival of the hot days of summer also mark the annual return of the Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica). The Japanese beetle is native to Japan and the insect was first found in the United States in 1916 in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey. These photos were taken in a wetland behind our barn.



The Japanese Beetles are here throughout the year but for ten months of the year they are living in the ground as a grub and feeding on grass roots.



Adults emerge from the soil in early July, feed, mate, and lay eggs. Activity is most intense over a 6 to 8 week period, after which the beetles gradually die off.



When adult Japanese Beetles emerge from the ground they have two things on their minds, eating and mating.



Individual beetles live about 60 days. Over 2 months females can lay a total of 60 eggs.