- Latin Name: Maladera formosae (formerly Maladera castanea)
- Latin Family Name: Scarabaeidae
- Common Name: Asiatic garden beetle
- Other Names: Oriental garden beetle
Origin:
This is a native of Asia, but it was discovered in 1921 in New Jersey, and now is found commonly in a few Northeast states and occasionally south into South Carolina.
Biology:
Adult beetles are known to feed on over 300 different kinds of plants, potentially consuming entire leaves except for the mid-vein. Preferred food plants include shrubs or trees such as rose, box elder, viburnum, and barberry, and flowers such as aster, dahlia, chrysanthemum, and sunflower. They also attack some food plants such as cherry, peach, strawberry, carrots, and others. The larvae may be a serious pest of turf, and infestations of up to 126 larvae per square foot have been found. Adult beetles hide in or on the ground during the daytime and feed on plants at night, appearing in greatest numbers when temperatures reach 65 to 70 degrees. They also will be attracted to lights.
Identification:
The adult beetle is about 10 mm long and a dark brown, sometimes with a velvety sheen to them on the dorsal side. They are egg-shaped and rounded on the elytra. They have long, thin legs. On the bottom of the abdomen segments 5, 6, and 7 have rows of long spines running across them and as long as the width of that segment. The larva is a typical white grub larva with a “C” shape and 3 pairs of relatively long legs.
Characteristics Important to Control:
Residual contact insecticides can be applied to plants the adults feed on to kill them as they feed. Contact insecticides can be applied to turf to kill the larvae, timed to when the larvae are feeding in the root zone of the turf grasses. Granular insecticides can be very effective once watered in to move the active ingredient into the soil.
