Whether playing in the railyard , explore the Sir Henry Wood or splosh in the brook , my puerility was spend outdoors in and around nature . One of my most vivid reoccurring summertime memories involves pose in the green grass look on the clouds float by . The storage is not silent , rather it was occupy with loud drone of male June hemipteran , aka June beetles , flying about the 1000 . These worm were always a chronological mark indicating that mid - summer was here and school would soon be on the view .
Identifying The June Beetle
The June mallet ( Cotinis nitida ) is a large scarab mallet found in the eastern half of North America . It ’s a shining metallic leafy vegetable with rust red highlights along the fringe of the soundbox . Adult beetle pass about 1 inch long and intimately 1/2 column inch wide . The color and sizing are two of the most important characteristic for distinguish these beetle as adults .
There is only one generation of these insects each year . In recent summertime , distaff beetle lie eggs , which will hatch rapidly commence to seek out decaying constituent matter to eat . The feeding and tunneling of the larval June beetles can hurt and loosen grasses and young plant when the grubs are observe in high numbers . After feeding in the fall , the large milklike grubs will then overwinter and become dynamic again in the former spring . Even though they are known as June bugs , the adult beetles do n’t ordinarily emerge until late June , July or even other August depending on your climatical zone . Katja Schulz / Flickr
The Destruction Ensues
Once the adult beetles crawl out of the ground , they ’re only concerned in two thing : finding a mate and feeding . The alimentation habits of the adult green June beetles can cause problem for growers of thin skinned yield likegrapes , apples , peachesandfigs , because they ’re attracted to and will mirthfully nosh on the over - ripe fruits . And once one beetle finds a suitable yield , just wait — others will be close behind . The beetle will emit an aggregation pheromone that will draw in all nearby beetle for a tasty feast that can cause some serious economic scathe for fruit grower .
Fortunately , unless you are attempt to maintain a absolutely manicured turf grass lawn , magnanimous pasturesor have a numerous fruit Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , normal populations of green June beetles do not set a real threat for most gardeners or homeowners . If declamatory population are present , there are some constitutional mastery and pesticide uncommitted on the commercial-grade market , but I extremely urge verbalize to your local extension agent about any potential treatments as idealistic direction design differ regionally .
Katja Schulz/Flickr
