Oriental Beetle

Exomala orientalis

The invasive Oriental Beetle is a lawn pest that is native to Asia. Also known as Exomala orientalis, this lawn-damaging insect is now a common intruder in many different types of grasses throughout parts of the northeastern United States. All of the lawn damage is caused by grubs and mostly occurs during the autumn months.

Identify

Grubs

Sub Surface

An adult Oriental Beetle can be identified by its spiny legs and golden or straw-colored broad and round body. Defining characteristics also include black markings on the thorax and wing covers that greatly vary in pattern. The head of this lawn insect is usually a solid dark brown, and the wing covers have distinct longitudinal grooves. Oriental Beetle grubs have two short rows of parallel, inward-pointing hairs. The raster pattern resembles that of May/June Beetle, but the Oriental Beetle grub has a transverse slit on the backside, which is a key identifying feature for this lawn-damaging insect. Both the adults and the grubs feed on sugar cane, but only the grubs cause damage to grass. This lawn pest can be a problem anywhere that sugar cane is grown and especially along the coastal regions of the United States.

Life Cycle

Control

There are two methods for controlling Oriental Beetles that TruGreen® recommends: 1. Use professionally applied pest control designed to prevent excess lawn pest populations, which can cause damage to your lawn 2. Kill insects, grubs and other lawn pests before they have a chance to damage your lawn Proper mowing and watering techniques can also help foster a healthy lawn that's more tolerant to lawn pest attacks—plus you'll get a lawn you'll want to live on in the process.