How to identify the Japanese Beetle

Mesa County declared the Japanese Beetle a public nuisance in 2022 and needs help from our community to ensure the local agriculture economy is not affected by the damaging pest. Here’s what to look for when identifying a Japanese Beetle. 

Adult Japanese Beetle

• Has an oval form
• About 7/16-inch in length
• Generally metallic green with coppery-brown wing covers, which don’t entirely cover the tip of the abdomen. 
• Along the sides are five patches of whitish hairs. 
• The antennae are clubbed at the end and may spread to a fan-like form.

Japanese Beetle Larvae (a type of white grub that feeds on the roots of grasses)

• They have a creamy white body with a dark head and well-developed legs.
• Usually, the body curves into a “C-shape.”
• They are best distinguished from other white grubs by closely examining the pattern of hairs on the hind end of the abdomen, which forms a distinctive V-shape.

If you find what you think is a Japanese Beetle, you can contact CSU Extension Services, 2775 Highway 50, at 970-244-1834 and send them a picture or take it in for identification.

Visit our Japanese Beetle Eradication webpage for more information on protecting our community from this harmful pest. 

Photograph courtesy of David Shetlar, the Ohio State University.