Japanese beetle

n. A metallic green and brown scarab beetle (Popillia japonica) native to eastern Asia, the larvae and adults of which feed on and damage the roots, foliage, and fruits of many North American turf, ornamental, and crop plants.

Japanese beetle

n (Animals) a scarabaeid beetle, Popillia japonica, that eats the leaves and fruits of various plants: accidentally introduced into the US from Japan

Jap′anese bee′tle

n. an iridescent green beetle, Popillia japonica, of the scarab family, native to Japan, established esp. in E North America as a crop and garden pest. [1915–20]

Thesaurus

Noun

Japanese beetle - small metallic green and brown beetle native to eastern Asia; serious plant pest in North AmericaPopillia japonicascarabaean, scarabaeid, scarabaeid beetle - any of numerous species of stout-bodied beetles having heads with horny spikesgenus Popillia, Popillia - a genus of Scarabaeidae

Japanese beetle

Japanese beetle,

common name for a destructive beetle, Popillia japonica, of the scarab beetlescarab beetle
or scarab,
name for members of a large family of heavy-bodied, oval beetles (the Scarabaeidae), with about 30,000 species distributed throughout most of the world and over 1,200 in North America.
..... Click the link for more information. family. Accidentally imported to the United States from Japan, it was first discovered in New Jersey in 1916 and is now widespread in the northeastern states, where it is a serious pest of lawns, orchards, and gardens. The adult is about 1-2 in. (13 mm) long with a metallic-green head and thorax and reddish-brown wing covers. Metamorphosis is complete (see insectinsect,
invertebrate animal of the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda. Like other arthropods, an insect has a hard outer covering, or exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Adult insects typically have wings and are the only flying invertebrates.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The eggs are laid in the ground; the small white larvae, called grubs, feed on the roots of grasses, sometimes killing them, and hibernate during the winter. Pupation occurs in the spring, and the adult emerges in midsummer, feeding on and destroying leaves, flowers, and fruits. Many methods of control have been tried, especially those involving the insect's natural enemies—e.g., parasitic wasps and flies, some of them imported from Japan; bacteria that cause the "milky disease" of grubs; and certain parasitic nematodes. None, however, have been entirely successful in controlling the spread of the beetle. Japanese beetles are classified in the phylum ArthropodaArthropoda
[Gr.,=jointed feet], largest and most diverse animal phylum. The arthropods include crustaceans, insects, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, and the extinct trilobites.
..... Click the link for more information. , class Insecta, order Coleoptera, family Scarabaeidae.

Bibliography

See bulletins of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Japanese beetle

Japanese beetle

Japanese beetle

Jap′anese bee′tle

Japanese beetle

Japanese beetle,

Bibliography

Japanese beetle

Synonyms for Japanese beetle

noun small metallic green and brown beetle native to eastern Asia

Synonyms

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