DescriptionAdult: This dull black, rather stout beetle is

related to the June bugs or May beetles. The beetlehas strong forelegs with coarse spines adapted fordigging and is about 13 to 16 millimeters long.

Egg: The egg is oblong, white and smooth. Fe-males deposit clusters of eggs in earthen cells in sod.Eggs hatch in about 9 days.

Larva: The larva of the sugarcane beetle is awhite grub, closely resembling other white grubs. Thegrub has yellowish legs, and the head shield is red. Itranges in size from 4.8 to about 32 mm long.

Pupa: The pupa is pale buff, and it is about 15-19mm long.

BiologyDistribution and host plants: The beetle has

been reported from all southern states. It is primarilya pest of corn, but damage reports also includesugarcane, sweet potatoes and rice. It also damagesstrawberries and cotton and has been reported tofeed on grasses, rushes and sedges.

Damage: The adult beetles cause significantdamage to corn, sweet potatoes and sugarcane. Thegrubs feed on the roots of grasses. Adult feedingoccurs below the soil surface. Seedling corn suffersthe most severe damage. Adults are also attracted tosugarcane fields; beetles reportedly penetrate the soilalong sugarcane rows, mate, lay eggs and feed onyoung sugarcane tillers before the apical meristememerges above ground. In sweet potatoes, the beetlechews ragged holes in the root, and they can often befound burrowed in the root. Crops planted adjoininga sod field are most often at greater risk of injuryfrom the adult beetles.

Life History: The developmental cycle from eggto adult requires about 80 days. Adult beetles hiber-nate during late October in the soil of well-drainedsod land. Adult flight activity reported from blacklighttraps occurs from March through September. Beetlesmay become active on warm days in late fall or

Sugarcane BeetleEuetheola rugiceps (LeConte), Scarabaeidae, Coleoptera

Damage by adult beetle on sweet potato

Adult Sugarcane Beetle

Damage by adult beetle on sweet potato

winter; seldom do they resume constant flightsuntil late March or early April. Adults mate inthe soil and females lay as many as 100 or moreeggs in a lifetime. After hatching, larvae beginfeeding on decaying vegetable matter. After twoor three months, the mature larvae pupate andremain in the pupal stage for about two weeks.Adults emerge in August and September andfeed before cold weather forces them intohibernation. The generation time is about 80days.

Louisiana State University Agricultural CenterWilliam B. Richardson, ChancellorL. J. Guedry, Executive Vice ChancellorLouisiana Agricultural Experiment StationWilliam H. Brown, Vice Chancellor and DirectorLouisiana Cooperative Extension ServicePaul D. Coreil, Vice Chancellor and Director

Pub. 2892 (1M) 9/02Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, incooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. The Louisiana Cooperative ExtensionService provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.

Visit our Web site:www.lsuagcenter.com

Author:

Abner M. Hammond, Professor of Entomology

Photos:

Jerry Lenhard, Department of Entomology

ControlNo insecticides are labeled for control of

the sugarcane beetle. History indicates that it isa sporadic pest. In Arkansas, years of heavyinfestations in corn were followed by one ormore years of unreported damage to the crop.Weather plays an important role in naturalcontrol, but it is largely indirect. Frequentcultivation is recommended to destroy develop-ing larvae and pupae.