Life Cycle Of Japanese Beetle
The Japanese beetle season starts towards the end of June and the beginning of July. The larva matures in June, and the beetle emerges out in June, usually in the last week of the month. The beetles love to feed when the day is bright and sunny. They also need to stay warm before they take off and start feeding on the leaves. |
The beetles arrive due to the pheromone given out by the females. The odor attracts several beetles to come together. The females, as soon as they come out from the pupa, can start giving out additional pheromones attracting more male beetles to the crop. The female Japanese beetles lay the eggs around one or two inches deep in the soil. One female lays up to five eggs and scatters them in the soil. They feed and soon after they lay the eggs; and this pattern can continue until they lay about 60 eggs. By mid August most of the egg laying by the beetles is completed.
Depending on the soil conditions, the eggs will complete swelling up in the next few days. The egg takes at least 9 days to develop completely if the temperature is around eighty to ninety degrees. If it is 65 degrees or lower, the eggs may develop for 30 days. The larvae that hatch first tunnel into the soil, and they tend to feed on the roots and the organic material they find in the soil. If there is sufficient food available, then the larva can develop in 18 days, or else it can take up to 56 days.
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