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Insect Quiz July, 2006 |
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Insect Quiz July, 2006 |
You are in your garden one morning when you notice a fairly large beetle. It kind of looks like a June beetle but it is orangish in color. It also has six black spots, three on each margin of its wing covers. You only see the one insect and you aren’t even sure where it came from.
1. What is this insect?
This is a grape pelidnota, Pelidnota punctata, a type of scarab beetle. It also goes by the names spotted pelidnota and spotted June beetle. Despite its similarity to June beetles, a grape pelidnota is actually more closely related to Japanese beetles. This insect is oval in shape, about one inch long, and ranges in color from tannish to orangish brown.
2. What does it eat?
As an adult, this insect eats grape leaves. Watch for grape pelidnotas during July and August once they emerge. The larvae which are rarely seen feed on rotting wood in stumps and logs. As a result, you are more likely to see this insects near wooded areas.
3. Is it damaging to plants?
Your plants are safe. If you find this beetle in your garden or yard, it has wandered in accidently. If you grow grapes, the feeding by grape pelidnota is of little concern. They typically occur in small numbers in a given area and their feeding is rarely, if ever, extensive or damaging to grapes
4. What is the best method to control it?
Just ignore this insect if you find around your home, it won’t harm anything in your garden or yard. If you find this grape pelidnotas on your grapes, you can handpick them and throw them into a pail of soapy water or just ignore them. Insecticides are not justified.
