- Author: Elaine Lander
We've had many reports in the last two weeks from people asking what those big green, buzzing, beetles are. Green fruit beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) are members of the scarab beetle family and are sometimes known as fig beetles or figeater beetles. They are related to green June beetles (C. nitida) which are more commonly found in the South Eastern United States.
Green fruit beetles have a metallic green color and can be up to 1 1/3 inches long with prominent legs and antennae. The adults eat maturing soft fruit like figs and stone fruits, while the larvae (grubs) are found in compost or other decomposing matter. More on these occasional pests can be found on...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Originally posted August 26, 2016; edited July 10, 2018
Have you seen big green beetles in your California yard or garden? Or beetles feeding on your roses or other plants? There are many kinds of beetles commonly found in our landscapes, but the Japanese beetle is not one of them.
Japanese Beetles
Many people think they've seen the Japanese beetle, a small scarab beetle with metallic green wings with white spots on the margins. However, Japanese beetles are generally not found in California.
The Japanese beetle is an exotic and potentially invasive pest for which the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is conducting eradication efforts to limit its spread...
When people think of parasites, often what comes to mind are blood-sucking insects like bed bugs, head lice, and fleas or other bodily invaders on or in humans and other animals. But plants can have parasites too. Most of us are familiar with mistletoe but there is another parasitic plant you may not have heard about: dodder.
There are several species of dodder native to California but they are not as problematic as a particularly invasive species, Japanese dodder, Cuscuta...
![Adult hoplia beetle and feeding damage. [J.K.Clark]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/43235small.jpg)
If you grow roses, you might be noticing damage on the flowers caused by hoplia beetles (Hoplia callipyge). Hoplia beetles, which are common between March and May, especially in the Central Valley, feed on the blossoms of light-colored roses and other flowers in your landscape.
Hoplia beetle adults are small, reddish-brown scarab beetles that are often found resting inside a blossom. If you hold one in your hand, you'll notice that most of the body is a beautiful, iridescent silvery green color in the sunlight.
These beetles may also occasionally be found feeding on other plants with light-colored petals.
Some people believe they have the rose chafer or Japanese beetle in their landscape, however...
