page_title: Phyllophaga
section_title: Diet
hierarchical_section_title: Phyllophaga / Diet
caption_attribution_description: English: Hairy June Bug found in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
context_page_description: Phyllophaga is a very large genus 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 range in size from 12 to 35 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 generic name is derived from the Greek words phyllon, which means "leaf", and phagos, which means "eater", with a plural ending.
context_section_description: 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.
  Adult chafers eat the leaves and flowers of many deciduous trees, shrubs, and other plants. However, white grubs (reaching 40–45 mm long when full grown) live in the soil and feed on plant roots, especially those of grasses and cereals, and are occasional pests in pastures, nurseries, gardens, and golf courses. An obvious indication of infestation is the presence of birds, such as crows, peeling back the grass to get to the grubs. The injury consists of poorly growing patches that quickly turn brown in dry weather. The grubs can be found immediately below the surface, usually lying in a characteristic comma-like position.
  The grubs sometimes attack vegetables and other garden plants, e.g. lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, potatoes, and young ornamental trees. Injury to the roots and rootstock causes small saplings and tender tap-rooted plants like lettuce to wilt suddenly or to show stunted growth and a tendency to shed leaves prematurely. Plants growing in rows are usually attacked in succession as the grubs move along from one plant to the next. Chafer grubs feed below ground for 3–4 years before changing into adult beetles.
caption: Hairy June Bug found in Ohio, USA
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