BN-13688-X 
Larva of the green June beetle. It 
crawls on its back. 
that they construct by cementing soil 
particles together with a sticky fluid that 
they excrete. Pupae are about 1 inch 
long and 1/, inch wide. They are white 
when first formed, but gradually become 
darker and take on some of the coloring 
of the adult. The pupal, or resting, 
stage occurs in April and May, and the 
adults emerge in June and July. 
Adults are robust, hard-shelled beetles, 
34, to 1 inch long. Usually they are 
velvety green on the top side, and shin- 
ing green and orange yellow on the 
underside. 
Generally, the beetles first appear in 
June. They become increasingly abun- 
dant in July and August, and gradually 
disappear in September. 
Female beetles are strongly attracted 
to humus, decaying plants, and manure 
as materials in which to lay their eggs. 
These are ideal foods for developing 
larvae, and account for the heavy infesta- 
tions that occur in tobacco plant beds. 
BN-13687-X 
Pupal cells of the green June beetle. 
The pupa changes to a beetle in 
these ceils. 
DAMAGE 
Green June beetle larvae cause some 
damage by feeding on young, tender 
rootlets of plants. They cause the most 
serious damage, however, by their con- 
tinual boring and tunneling through the 
soil in search of food. 
The larvae live in burrows several 
inches below the soil surface. At night 
and on very cloudy days they frequently 
come to, or near, the surface to feed. 
When they are large, they may uproot 
many plants. 
Larval damage can be particularly seri- 
ous in tobacco plant beds because in 
spring, when the beds are started, the 
larvae are nearly full grown. A severe 
infestation may ruin a plant bed. 
In addition to injuring tobacco, the 
larvae of this insect injure many other 
field crops, such as corn, oats, sorghum, 
and alfalfa. They also injure straw- 
berries, vegetable crops, 
plants, lawns, and trees. 
ornamental 
CHEMICAL CONTROL 
You can control green June beetle 
larvae by using a soil fumigant, a drench, 
a poisoned bait, or a dust mixture. 
Fumigation will! kill all larvae that are 
in the soil if the fumigant is applied to 
the entire bed area before it is seeded. 
Drenches, baits, and dusts give very 
satisfactory control, and need to be ap- 
plied only to areas that the larvae have 
uprooted. When these materials are 
used, many dead and dying larvae appear 
on the surface of the soil for several days 
after it has been treated. 
The best time for chemical treatment 
is in the fall when plant-bed sites are be- 
ing prepared for seeding. By spring, the 
