
Detailed life cycle times are outlined below. The insect will then go through its various developmental stages with the adult beetles emerging from the soil the next spring or early summer.

Eggs are laid in the soil during early summer after the mating flights have occurred. This means that these beetles go through the egg to adult stage once during a calendar year. Japanese beetles, masked chafers, and green June beetles all have a one–year life cycle. They have a well–developed brownish head and three pairs of well–developed legs. Most of the grubs that feed on turfgrass will assume a “C” shape when they are dug out of the soil. With this form of metamorphosis, the larval stage looks completely different from the adult stage. This form of life cycle is called complete metamorphism. The grub changes into the pupa, which is the resting stage, and the pupa then changes into the adult beetle. Because of this, various size grubs are commonly found in the soil.

Once the egg hatches, the grubs will go through three larval stages or instars during their development. Insect Life CycleĪll of these beetles go through four distinct forms during their life cycle: egg, grub (larva), pupa, and adult. The black turfgrass Ataenius beetle and the oriental beetle are slowly expanding their range and can soon be a problem for turfgrass managers in South Carolina.

There are two additional scarab beetles that attack turf and are relatively new to the southeastern United States. From year to year, the Japanese beetle consistently causes the most damage to both turfgrass and ornamentals. In South Carolina, as well as the rest of the southeastern United States, turfgrass can be attacked by the grub stage of Japanese beetles, masked chafers, May and June beetles, and green June beetles. White grubs are the larval (immature) stage of several different scarab beetles.
