Beetles! What happened?

These ordinary-looking beetles appeared overnight seemingly trapped in the folds of my floating row cover. What are they and what happened here? There are dozens of them! Thanks for any help!

Thumbnail by TL11
King, NC

i got them to and there eating every thing in sight!! i go out at night and kill all i can...i have posted on a few forums and still haven't found out anything, as soon as i do i will let you know. if you do before i do please let me know!! thanks and have a blessed day!!

Thumbnail by troublechey8

Uh-oh! What are they eating of yours? Today's is the first sighting for me. They have massed in the folds of the row cover and I think their feet are stuck in the nonwoven fibers.
I hope we get an ID!

Sinks Grove, WV

These are beetles in the family Scarabaeidae. This is an extremely large and varied family; ones of your type largely are underground root feeders as grubs, and the emerging adults are foliage feeders. Examples include June beetles, May bugs, and Japanese beetles.

King, NC

yes this the bug that is eating my stuff....thank you!!! now how do we kill them??? i know they come from grubs because they are beetles. My husband is spreading stuff on the yard today...i have looked and looked and i can't seem to find anything that says how to kill them...i have been going out at night with a flashlight and picking them off and squishing them...but i really think they are winning the war..my plants look so eaten up....

Sinks Grove, WV

troublechey8, you might check with your county extension agent (see http://tinyurl.com/php72x for contact information) for control recommendations. The adult beetles should be susceptible to just about any pesticide registered for use on foliage/vegetables, but control of their grubs in the soil is more problematic.

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP