Over the last few days, Japanese beetle adult flights have been noticeable around the landscape. They tend to emerge a few weeks later than European chafer adults. Unlike the European chafer,adult Japanese beetles feed on a wide variety of ornamental and fruit crops and adults can be seen during the day time hours. Adult Japanese beetles are very easy to identify. They are metallic green and have 6 tufts of white hairs on the sides of their wing covers.
Adults live and feed from anywhere from 4-6 weeks. During that time adult females will lay eggs. These eggs take 2 weeks to hatch and spend roughly two weeks as second instars and roughly three weeks as third instars. Control measures for Japanese beetles on golf courses are similar to those for European chafers. The goal is to apply the products prior to egg hatch when there has been a history of Japanese beetle damage or when large populations of adults are observed. All Japanese beetle control products must be watered in to be effective. On home lawns, lawns with observed Japanese beetle adult infestations should be treated with a Steinernema glaseri or Heterhorabditis bacteriophora in mid-late August.
