I've found several of these guys in my small backyard garden:

http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs840&d=09242&f=bug595.jpg

They resemble Colorado beetles, but are smaller (about 5-7mm) and
instead of long brown stripes have brown spots on their backs.
One of them was sitting on a grape leaf and I am pretty sure it was
eating it!

Who are these and how much should I be concerned? Besides grapes, I
grow some peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and herbs.

Thanks!

Andrew said:


I've found several of these guys in my small backyard garden:

http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs840&d=09242&f=bug595.jpg

They resemble Colorado beetles, but are smaller (about 5-7mm) and
instead of long brown stripes have brown spots on their backs.
One of them was sitting on a grape leaf and I am pretty sure it was
eating it!

Who are these and how much should I be concerned? Besides grapes, I
grow some peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and herbs.

What you have there looks like an adult Oriaental beetle (Anomala
orentalis). This is a "newer" pest in the US, still spreading, and
actually seems able to out-competing Japanese beetles as pest of
lawns and gardens. The grubs feed on roots of plants and the
adults leaves and flowers.

It comes invarious color morphs:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/12234

Here's an article (from 2007) about the arrival of Oriental beetles in
Indiana:
http://www.entm.purdue.edu/news/orientalbeetle.html

Where exactly are you located?

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"So, it was all a dream."
"No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell."

email valid but not regularly monitored

Thanks a lot - that's exactly what it is... I am in Virginia (as you
saw in my other post).

Any ideas how to get rid of them?


On Jun 20, 8:08*am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
Andrew said:

I've found several of these guys in my small backyard garden:

http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs840&d=09242&f=bug595.jpg

They resemble Colorado beetles, but are smaller (about 5-7mm) and
instead of long brown stripes have brown spots on their backs.
One of them was sitting on a grape leaf and I am pretty sure it was
eating it!

Who are these and how much should I be concerned? Besides grapes, I
grow some peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and herbs.

What you have there looks like an adult Oriaental beetle (Anomala
orentalis). * This is a "newer" pest in the US, still spreading, and
actually seems able to out-competing Japanese beetles as pest of
lawns and gardens. * The grubs feed on roots of plants and the
adults leaves and flowers.

It comes invarious color morphs: *http://bugguide.net/node/view/12234

Here's an article (from 2007) about the arrival of Oriental beetles in
Indiana:http://www.entm.purdue.edu/news/orientalbeetle.html

Where exactly are you located? *

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"So, it was all a dream."
"No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell." *

email valid but not regularly monitored

Pat Kiewicz wrote in
:

What you have there looks like an adult Oriaental beetle
(Anomala orentalis). This is a "newer" pest in the US, still
spreading, and actually seems able to out-competing Japanese
beetles as pest of lawns and gardens. The grubs feed on roots
of plants and the adults leaves and flowers.

the adults also eat plant roots. during the day the adults burrow
into the soil around the plant & eat roots. in the evening they climb
up & eat the upper parts of the plant.
lee

Andrew wrote in

om:

Thanks a lot - that's exactly what it is... I am in Virginia (as
you saw in my other post).

Any ideas how to get rid of them?

squish them, or put into a bucket of soapy water.
when you see damage to the tops of the plant, check around the base
of the stem(s) & see if the soil is loose. if so poke around a bit &
get the beetles in the soil too. they're usually in the top inch or
so. they're pretty fast movers. if you disturb them when they're
eating leaves, they'll drop & burrow.
any grubs i find go to my chickens on the theory that grubs are no
good anyway.
lee

Andrew said:


Thanks a lot - that's exactly what it is... I am in Virginia (as you
saw in my other post).

Any ideas how to get rid of them?

Not likely to get rid of them. You can do your best to hand-pick
adult beetles. (Be aware that they are most active at night.)

You can possibly get some control the grub stage using beneficial
nematodes (Steinernema sp.-- environmentally safe, pricy)
or an application of a pesticide to the lawn with the active ingredient
Imidacloprid (under suspicion as one of the elements in the decline
of honeybees).

Keeping the lawn mown tall, and watered through the summer is
also recommended as the beetles prefer it shorter and drier.

Pheremones sprays and traps with pheremones lures are being
used to disrupt the beetles reproductive cycle.

http://www.uri.edu/ce/healthylandscapes/OBcontrol.html

Paper on use of pheremones:
http://usgatero.msu.edu/v05/n15.pdf

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"So, it was all a dream."
"No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell."

email valid but not regularly monitored

Thanks a lot, really appreciate the advice!

On Jun 21, 6:58*am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
Andrew said:

Thanks a lot - that's exactly what it is... I am in Virginia (as you
saw in my other post).

Any ideas how to get rid of them?

Not likely to get rid of them. *You can do your best to hand-pick
adult beetles. *(Be aware that they are most active at night.)

You can possibly get some control the grub stage using beneficial
nematodes (Steinernema sp.-- environmentally safe, pricy)
or an application of a pesticide to the lawn with the active ingredient
Imidacloprid (under suspicion as one of the elements in the decline
of honeybees).

Keeping the lawn mown tall, and watered through the summer is
also recommended as the beetles prefer it shorter and drier.

Pheremones sprays and traps with pheremones lures are being
used to disrupt the beetles reproductive cycle.

http://www.uri.edu/ce/healthylandscapes/OBcontrol.html

Paper on use of pheremones:http://usgatero.msu.edu/v05/n15.pdf

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"So, it was all a dream."
"No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell." *

email valid but not regularly monitored