UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1154 
Washington, D. C. T April 30, 1923 
FEEDING HABITS OF THE JAPANESE BEETLE' WHICH 
INFLUENCE ITS CONTROL. 2 
By Lorex B. Smith. Entomologist, Deciduous Fruit Insect Investigations. Bureau of 
Entomology. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page. 
Difficulty of controlling the Japanese beetle. . 1 Proportion of sexes on various types of food 
Feeding habits of the Japanese beetle 2 plants ". 5 
Movements of the beetles in relation to their : Rate at which the beetles feed 7 
food plants 4 Summary 10 
The process of infestation 4 
DIFFICULTY OF CONTROLLING THE JAPANESE BEETLE. 
Serious difficulties have been encountered in attempting to control 
the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newm.) by the application of 
poisonous materials to its food plants. 3 Observations made during 
the season of 1921 indicate that the habits of the beetle, together with 
its response to environmental conditions, account in a measure for the 
lack of success in previously conducted spraying operations. The im- 
portance of controlling this new pest makes it advisable to bring 
together certain available information relative to the habits of the 
beetle which may have a more or less direct bearing on its control by 
sprays. 
With a phytophagous insect such as the Japanese beetle it is essen- 
tial that an insecticide be obtained which will be eaten by the beetles 
and cause their death. While arsenical sprays, which in this case act 
as repellents, will protect certain crops from the attacks of the beetles, 
this does not solve the problem of keeping the insect in check by re- 
ducing its numbers, nor does it protect those crops which it is im- 
f)racticable to spray either for mechanical reasons or because of like- 
ihood of injuring the foliage. It has been observed that commercial 
lead arsenate applied to fruit or shade trees kills a small number of 
1 Popillia japonica Newm. 
2 Submitted for publication Dec, 12, 1922. The work reported herein was done at the Japanese Beetle 
Laboratory, Rivertoh, X. J., in cooperation with the department of agriculture of New Jersey. The writer 
desires to acknowledge the assistance of Harry H. Pratt on this project during the season of 1921. Credit is 
also due B. R. Leach, who lias been in charge of the insecticidal investigations at the Japanese 
Laboratory for several years, and whose work on the chemical phases of the problem led to the biological 
studies of which this is a part. 
3 Davis, J. J. In Jour, of Ecou. Ent., v. 13, p. 183. April, 1920. 
3209.5-23— Bull. 1154 
