Phyllophaga (genus)
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Phyllophaga is a very large genus (more than 260 species) of New World scarab beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae. Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and June beetles. They are medium to large in size (8-25 mm) and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour, without prominent markings, and often rather hairy ventrally. These beetles are nocturnal, coming to lights in great numbers. The adults are chafers, feeding on foliage of trees and shrubs. They may cause significant damage when emerging in large numbers. The larvae (called white grubs) feed on the roots of grasses and other plants. The insects pupate underground in the fall and emerge as adults the following spring.
Flies in the family Pyrgotidae are endoparasitoids of these and related beetles; the females pursue the beetles in flight, laying an egg on the beetle's back under the elytra where the beetle cannot reach it. The egg hatches and the fly larva enters the body cavity of the beetle, feeding and eventually killing the host before pupating. Wasps in numerous families are parasitoids of Phyllophaga grubs, including Pelecinidae, Scoliidae, and Tiphiidae.
The generic name is derived from the Greek words phyllon (φυλλον), which means "leaf", and phagos(φαγος), which means "eater", with a feminine ending.
[edit] References
- Bartlett, Troy, et al. BugGuide
- Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence (1961). A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America. Evanston, Illinois: Row, Peterson, and Company.
- Evans, Arthur W. Generic Guide to New World Scarabs--subfamily Melolonthinae
- Garden Web
- Haarstad, John A. Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota
- Smith, A. B. T. 2003. Checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of the Nearctic Realm. Version 3. Electronically published, Lincoln, Nebraska. 74 pp, available here.
- White , Richard E. (1998). Beetles : A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-91089-7.
