Oriental Beetles

The Oriental beetle is an under-the-radar but significant pest in the New England and Mid-Atlantic areas of the United States.

This pest would seem like the plain-Jane counterpart to its relative, the flashy and obnoxious Japanese beetle. Although similar in size and shape, their coloring differs: Japanese beetle bodies are metallic green and red, while Oriental beetles are an understated black with straw-colored markings. They're also a less visible pest than Japanese beetles because of their lighter appetite and nocturnal flight habits.

Oriental beetles are under the radar, and under the dirt, when they do their damage. But when it comes to the surface, that damage is significant. The grubs have an appetite for roots of turfgrass, nursery stock, greenhouse ornamental crops and fruit such as blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and strawberries. This feeding can result in complete destruction of the root system and death of the host plant.

The Oriental beetle is capable of more concentrated infestations than the Japanese beetle. But until recently, Oriental beetles were not taken seriously as a pest because their grubs were mistaken for those of Japanese beetles.

In fact, some of the negative press heaped on Japanese beetles for damaged plants and grasses should actually be directed at Oriental beetles. And they often escape unpunished as well as unblamed, since there is no registered pesticide available to combat Oriental beetles.

With the RESCUE!® Japanese Beetle Trap, no guesswork is required to identify whether the culprits are Japanese or Oriental beetles, because the lure works on both.