bumble flower beetle
TRANSCRIPT
Published by Utah State University Extension and Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory December 2011ENT-052-11
Bumble Flower BeetleTaun Beddes, Cache County Horticulture Agent, and Ryan S. Davis, Arthropod Diagnostician
DO YOU KNOW?• Bumbleflowerbeetlesarecommonthroughoutthe
growingseasononflowers,oozingsap,andothersweet,overripe,orfermentingmatter.
• Bumbleflowerbeetlesseldomwarranttheuseofchemicalsforcontrol.
• Control methods include removing organic materialfromnearaffectedplants,andhandremovaloftheadultbeetlesfromplants.
INTRODUCTIONFig.2.Adultbumbleflowerbeetle(Euphoria inda)2.
Bumble Flower BeetleScientific Name: Euphoria inda(Scarabaeidae)
Range: WidelydistributedintheUnitedStatesfromConnecticuttoFloridaandwestwardtoOregonandArizona.
Hosts: Identification Adult: AdultBFB’s(Fig.2)are12-16mm(7/16-5/8inch)inlengthand8-10mm(5/16-3/8inch)wide.Theyhaveyellowish-brownorcinnamon-coloredouterwingswithirregularrowsofsmallblackspots,manyofwhichmayberectangular.Theheadandthorax(sectionbehindhead)aredenselyhairy,asistheundersideofthebody,thelatterbeingclothedwithnumerouswhitehairs.Legsareareddish-browncolor.Whencaptured,adultsmayemitadefensivechemicalwithapungentchlorine-likeodor.
Identification Immature: cream-coloredgrubwithadarkbrownheadcapsuleanddarkgrayterminalbodysegment(Fig.1).Larvaehavesixlegsandareeasilymistakenforotherscarabbeetlelarvae,orwhitegrubs.
Life History: Overwinteringadultbeetlesbecomeactiveduringthefirstwarmdaysofspringandlayeggs.InUtah,BFB’shavebeenobservedfromearlyMaythroughlateSeptember.Afterhatching,larvaedevelopinsoilorothersubstratescontainingalargeamountoforganicmatter.Suchareasincludetheedgesofoldhayorstrawstacks,soilcontainingdecayingvegetationor
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Thebumbleflowerbeetle(BFB)isacommonmemberoftheScarabaeidae(scarab)beetlefamily.ItscommonnameoriginatedbecauseadultBFB’softenflyclosetothegroundandemitaloudbuzzingsoundsimilartothatofabumblebee.Larvae(grubs)andadultsareoftenfoundinornearfermentingand/ordecomposingorganicmatter.BecauseBFB’sfeedonandfurtherbreakdownorganicmattertheyarebeneficialinmanysituations.Economic damage caused by BFB in Utah is rare and theyseldomrequirecontrol,thoughlarvae(Fig.1)maybemistakenforotherdamagingpestssuchasJapanesebeetleandvariouslawnfeedingwhitegrubs.
Fig.1.Immaturebumbleflowerbeetle(Euphoria sp.)1.
manure,rottenwood,humus,orevenpottingsoil.Theymaybeabundantinareaswherespoiledvegetablesaredumped.ThenewgenerationmaturesandpupatesinJuly.Pupaemaybefoundinsoilatadepthof2to5inchesinsideovalearthencellsconstructedbythelarvae.InUtah,adultsofthenewgenerationemergeandbecomeactiveinmid-AugustthroughabouttheendofSeptember,andthentheyseekaplacetooverwinter.Thereisonegenerationperyear.
Key Habits/Damage Description: Adult BFB’s are reported toinjurecorninthesilkstage,althoughthisproblemisseldom reported. Such damage can be severe but is usually limited to local areas. Adult beetles are attracted tofermentingsugarandmaybefoundfeedingoninjuredfruitorvegetables.Adultsalsofeedonflowersandripeoroverlyripefruitssuchasapples,pears,peaches, and grapes.
Adultbeetlescanalsobefoundinassociationwithbacterialslimefluxes(infectionswithwhiteorcreamcoloredfoamydischargecomingoutofthetree)onwillows,poplars,andothertrees(Figs.3&4)duetothefermentationthatoccurswiththeseinfections.Becauseoftheir,andotherinsects’presence,itisfalselyassumedthattheseinsectscausedtheinfection.
BIOLOGY CONT’D
CONTROL
Fig.3.Adultbumbleflowerbeetlesfeedingonsapfromawoundedplant2.
InUtah,BFB’saresecondarypestsofminorimportance.Sincetheyprimarilyfeedonfermentingsugars,decomposingorganicmatter,andsapflowsfromplants,specificcontrolisusuallynotrequiredorrecommended.Instead,whencontrolmeasuresareneededtheyshouldbedirectedateliminatingfoodsourcesandbreedinggrounds. Adult BFB’s rarely injure crops and do not injure treeswithslimeorbacterialfluxes;itisquestionablewhetherBFB’sshouldevenbeconsideredpests.
Cultural and Physical Control Methods:Ifbumbleflowerbeetlesaredamagingcornorfruit,tryusingcultural/physicalcontrolmethodsfirst.
Sanitation: Removedecayingorganicmatterfromthevicinityoftheaffectedcrop.
Handpick: Adultbeetlecanbemanuallyremovedfromaffectedplantsandputinabucketwithsoapywater.
Chemical Control Methods:InUtah,therearenoinsecticidesthatinclude“bumbleflowerbeetle”onthelabel,butafewdoinclude“flowerbeetles,”whichlooselyincludesBFBandotherrelated beetles. These chemicals are primarily labeled foruseonturfgrassandornamentalplants,andincludetheactiveingredients:bifenthrin(3A),carbaryl(1A),chlorantraniliprole(28),halofenozide(18),imidacloprid(4A),thiamethoxam(4A),andtrichlorfon(1B).Forcontrolofbumbleflowerbeetlesoncornorfruit,insecticideslabeledforthecontrolofotherchewingbeetlepestsonthehostcropwouldprobablybeeffective.
BFBlarvaemayalsobeanuisancewhentheydisturbsoilneartherootsoftreesorplants.Giventhehabitsoftheinsect, control measures are best directed at reducing or eliminatingsuitablehabitatsbyminimizingoreliminatingorganic matter present and not attempting chemical control.Ifcontrolisneededinthissituation,systemicinsecticidessuchasimidacloprid(4A)andthiamethoxam(4A)canbeeffective.
Fig.4.Adultbumbleflowerbeetle(Euphoria sp.)feedingon corn3.
Fig.5.Larvalbumbleflowerbeetle(Euphoria sp.) and pupal cases4.
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Page3UPPDL,5305OldMainHill,LoganUT84322,utahpests.usu.edu T:435.797.2435F:435.797.8197
Precautionary Statement:UtahStateUniversityExtensionanditsemployeesarenotresponsiblefortheuse,misuse,ordamagecausedbyapplicationormisapplicationofproductsorinformationmentionedinthisdocument.Allpesticidesarelabeledwithingredients,instructions,andrisks,andnotallareregisteredforediblecrops.“Registereduse”pesticidesmayonlybeappliedbyalicensedapplicator.Thepesticideapplicatorislegallyresponsibleforproperuse.USUmakesnoendorsementoftheproductslistedherein.
Figs.6-9.Adultbumbleflowerbeetlelook-alikes:maskedchafer(topleft)1,tenlinedJunebeetle(topright)5, Japanesebeetle(bottomleft)6,andJunebeetle(bottomright)7.
Figs.10-13.Larvalbumbleflowerbeetlelook-alikes:Japanesebeetle(topleft)6,blackturfgrassataenus(topright)4,Junebeetle(bottomleft)8,andmaskedchafer(bottomright)1.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCESFact sheet from BugwoodWiki: http://wiki.bugwood.org/HPIPM:Bumble_Flower_Beetle More images from Bugguide.net: http://bugguide.net/node/view/2711/bgimage
FactSheetSeries:Insects–TreeFruit;SmallFruit;Vegetable;LandscapeOrnamental.
PHOTO CREDITS
Bumbleflowerbeetlelarvaeareeasilyconfusedwithlarvaeofotherrelatedscarabbeetles.OthercommonwhitegrubseasilyconfusedwithBFBarediscussedinthewhitegrubfactsheetinthelinkbelow(Figs.6-13).
May/Junebeetlegrubscommonlyfeedonturfgrassrootsandcrownsandcanberatherdifficulttocontrol.Additionaldetailspertainingtowhitegrubscanbefoundat:http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/white-grub07.pdf. Othercommonwhitegrubsthatmaybemistakenlyconfusedthatarediscussedinthewhitegrubpublicationincludeblackturfataeniusandmaskedchafer.
Japanesebeetle,arelatedscarabbeetlewithsimilarlookinglarvaetoBFB,isnotnativetoUtahbutisapotentiallyseriouspestthatfeedsonover200plantspecies.OneinfestationofJapanesebeetleoccurredin2006inUtahCounty.TheUtahDepartmentofAgricultureandFoodactivelymonitorsforJapanesebeetlethroughoutthestate,anditisbelievedthattheinfestationhasbeencontrolled;futuretrappingwillconfirmthesuccessoftheprogram.IfitissuspectedthatJapanesebeetlesarefound,samplesshouldbesubmittedtotheUSUPlantPestDiagnosticLaboratory.Informationconcerningsamplesubmissioncanbefoundat:http://utahpests.usu.edu/uppdl/htm/forms/.MoreinformationconcerningJapanesebeetlecanbefoundat:http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/factsheet/ENT-100-06PR.pdf.
1.MikeRedingandBetsyAnderson,USDAAgricultural ResearchService,Bugwood.org.2.JosephBurger,Bugwood.org.3.RyanDavis,UtahStateUniversityExtension.4.WhitneyCranshaw,ColoradoStateUniversity, Bugwood.org.5.EugeneE.Nelson,Bugwood.org.6.DavidCappaert,MichiganStateUniversity,Bugwood. org.7.StevenKatovich,USDAForestService,Bugwood.org.8.ClemsonUniversity,USDACooperativeExtensionSlide Series,Bugwood.org.
LOOK-ALIKES