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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Invertebrates
  4. Japanese Beetle

Japanese Beetle

Scientific Name

Popillia japonica Newman, 1841 (ITIS)

Common Name

Japanese beetle

Native To

Japan (Potter and Held 2002)

Date of U.S. Introduction

First discovered in 1916, but was probably introduced around 1911 (Potter and Held 2002)

Means of Introduction

Possibly in the soil of imported ornamental plants (Potter and Held 2002)

Impact

Destructive pest of turf, landscape plants, and crops; adults feed on the foliage and fruits of several hundred species of trees, shrubs, vines, and crops, while larvae feed on the roots of grasses and other plants (APHIS 2015)

Japanese beetle

Japanese beetle, adult

Credit

Photo by Josesph Berger, Bugwood.org

Source
Invasive.org.

Find more images

Spotlights

  • Japanese Beetle

    • Washington State Department of Agriculture.

    • Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) detected two Japanese beetles near Grandview and one near Sunnyside in 2021. Additionally, a resident reported numerous Japanese beetles devouring her roses in Grandview that summer.

      Japanese beetles would pose a serious threat to farms, gardens, and the environment if they were to become established in Washington State. Please report any suspected sightings of Japanese beetle at PestProgram@agr.wa.gov or 1-800-443-6684. See WSDA's Interactive Japanese Beetle Response Map.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Federally Regulated

Videos

All Resources

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations