Macrodactylus subspinosus

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Macrodactylus subspinosus
Macrodactylus subspinosus 5138010.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Macrodactylus
Species:
M. subspinosus
Binomial name
Macrodactylus subspinosus
(Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms [1]
  • Macrodactylus barbatusFitch, 1863
  • Macrodactylus polyphagusBurmeister, 1855
  • Melolontha elongataHerbst, 1790
  • Melolontha subspinosusFabricius, 1775

Macrodactylus subspinosus is a North American beetle of the family Scarabaeidae. The members of its genus are known as "rose chafers", not to be confused with the European rose chafer, Cetonia aurata . M. subspinosus occurs from Eastern Canada to Colorado [2] and is considered a pest of many crops and flowers. It is given its common name of rose chafer because it eats the leaves of roses, although it also feeds on many other plants. [3]

Contents

Description

The rose chafer has a yellowish-tan coloured body that is about 8–13 millimetres (0.3–0.5 in) in length, with wings that do not completely cover the abdomen. [4] The beetle has six long, spiny, reddish-brown legs that gradually become darker towards the end of the appendage. It has two short lamellate antennae that end in a club of flat plates and it has chewing mouthparts. [5] Rose chafers are covered in dull yellow hairs which give the body its characteristic colour, however with age and with normal activity the hairs are worn off the head and thorax revealing a black colour. It is thus possible to distinguish between older and younger beetles, as older beetles will have fewer hairs and thus be darker in colour. Females tend to lose more hairs, especially on the thorax due to the mating process, and can also appear darker in colour. [6] Females also tend to be more robust than the male. [4] The eggs of the rose chafer are about 1 mm in length and are oval, white and shiny. The larvae are white C-shaped grubs that when mature develop a brown head capsule and three distinct pairs of legs. The pupae are yellowish-brown in colour and are about 15 mm in length. [6]

Natural history

Life cycle

As a member of the order Coleoptera, the rose chafer undergoes complete metamorphosis during its development. In late May, white-bodied larvae, about 18 millimetres (0.7 in) long, pupate after having overwintered deep in the soil. Once they have emerged from their pupal case, adults live for 3–6 weeks, during which time they will feed on plant material and mate. Their eggs are laid in sandy soils, 15 centimetres (6 in) deep, and hatch in 1–3 weeks. This new generation of larvae will feed on the roots of grasses, weeds, and some ornamental garden plants during the rest of the summer, before they burrow deep in the soil to overwinter; these larvae will emerge as adults in the following year. [4] [7]

Behaviour

After adult rose chafers emerge in late May to mid-June, [4] [7] they aggregate on leaves, buds, flowers, and fruit, in order to feed and mate. By chewing on plant tissues, the rose chafer induces the release of volatile compounds from the plant. Using their antennae, rose chafers can detect the plant compounds in the air and orient themselves in the direction of the feeding conspecific, leading to an aggregation of the beetles. Male rose chafers also orient themselves preferentially toward virgin females as opposed to mated females, though it is unknown whether they are detecting pheromones released by virgin females, or the release of plant volatiles induced by the feeding virgin females. [8]

Damage

The adult beetle feeds on the foliage, flowers, and fruit of many plants including grapes, apples, peaches, chestnuts, roses, and other garden flowers and fruits. On roses it skeletonizes the leaves, which can be rather bothersome for avid gardeners. Rose chafers are also a problem for vineyards as they eat the grapes at bloom as well as skeletonize the leaves. They also tend to appear suddenly and in swarms, and vines with over 100 rose chafers per plant have been observed. This huge amount of damage can result in almost total loss of photosynthetically active leaf area as well as reducing or prohibiting pollination. The larvae also cause damage as they feed on the roots of the plants, which can limit growth. [3]

Management

Small number of beetles (2-3 per plant) can be mechanically removed (hand picking, hand held vacuum). A number of insecticides are also effective for large scale infestations. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beetle</span> Order of insects

Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.

<i>Cetonia aurata</i> Species of beetle

Cetonia aurata, called the rose chafer or the green rose chafer, is a beetle, 20 millimetres long, that has a metallic structurally coloured green and a distinct V-shaped scutellum. The scutellum is the small V-shaped area between the wing cases; it may show several small, irregular, white lines and marks. The underside of the beetle has a coppery colour, and its upper side is sometimes bronze, copper, violet, blue/black, or grey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarabaeidae</span> Family of beetles

The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several subfamilies have been elevated to family rank, and some reduced to lower ranks. The subfamilies listed in this article are in accordance with those in Catalog of Life (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese beetle</span> Species of insect

The Japanese beetle is a species of scarab beetle. The adult measures 15 mm (0.6 in) in length and 10 mm (0.4 in) in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra, and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan, but in North America and some regions of Europe, it is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants, including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado potato beetle</span> Species of beetle

The Colorado potato beetle, also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about 10 mm long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its elytra. Native to the Rocky Mountains, it spread rapidly in potato crops across America and then Europe from 1859 onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common asparagus beetle</span> Species of beetle

The common asparagus beetle is an important pest of asparagus crops both in Europe and in North America. Asparagus is its only food plant. The beetle is 6.0 mm to 9.5 mm long and slightly elongated. It is metallic blue-black in color with cream or yellow spots on its red-bordered elytra. The larvae are fat gray grubs with dark heads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varied carpet beetle</span> Species of beetle

The varied carpet beetle is a 3 mm-long beetle belonging to the family Dermestidae. They are a common species, often considered a pest of domestic houses and, particularly, natural history museums, where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing, and insect collections. A. verbasci was also the first insect to be shown to have an annual behavioral rhythm and to date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in animals.

<i>Dermolepida albohirtum</i> Cane beetle, Australia native pest

Dermolepida albohirtum, the cane beetle, is a native Australian beetle and a pest of sugarcane. Adult beetles eat the leaves of sugarcane, but greater damage is done by their larvae hatching underground and eating the roots, which either kills or stunts the growth of the plant. The beetles can also be found in the Philippines and are known there by the local name salagubang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melolonthinae</span> Subfamily of beetles

Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetles. It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains over 11,000 species in over 750 genera. Some authors include the scarab subfamilies Euchirinae and Pachypodinae as tribes in the Melolonthinae.

<i>Helicoverpa assulta</i> Species of moth

Helicoverpa assulta, the oriental tobacco budworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. H. assulta adults are migratory and are found all over the Old World Tropics including Asia, Africa, and Australia.

<i>Scelophysa trimeni</i> Species of scarab beetle endemic to South Africa

Scelophysa trimeni, commonly known as the blue monkey beetle, is a species of scarab beetles in the monkey beetle subfamily Rutelinae.

<i>Anthrenocerus australis</i> Species of beetle

Anthrenocerus australis is a species of beetle belonging to the Dermestidae family. It is commonly known as the Australian carpet beetle and is one of the most researched of the thirty-one species in the Anthrenocerus genus. This is generally attributed to its prevalence throughout Australia and New Zealand and the negative economic and agricultural impact it has as a pest. It is the larvae that causes damage to products, not the adult beetle. The total life cycle of this insect is around three years, most of which is spent as a larva. Once the beetle reaches maturity, it only lives for between two and six weeks.

<i>Pachnoda interrupta</i> Species of beetle

Pachnoda interrupta, commonly known as the sorghum chafer, is a species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae and subfamily Cetoniinae.

<i>Phyllopertha horticola</i> Species of beetle

Phyllopertha horticola, the garden chafer or garden foliage beetle, is a beetle from the family Scarabaeidae. Phyllopertha horticola was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Bruchus rufimanus</i> Species of beetle

Bruchus rufimanus, commonly known as the broadbean weevil, broadbean beetle, or broadbean seed beetle is a leaf beetle which inhabits crops and fields, as well as some homes. It is a pest of faba beans. The adult beetles feed on pollen, while their larvae tunnel in seeds destroying crops and moving on to new ones once they dry out. The adult beetle, being one of the biggest of its genus, ranges from 3 to 5 mm in length.

<i>Pyronota festiva</i> Species of beetle

Pyronota festiva, commonly known as mānuka beetle or mānuka chafer, is a member of the genus Pyronota of the beetle family Scarabaeidae. It is a scarab beetle endemic to New Zealand, and is commonly found in mānuka trees, hence the beetle's name. In some areas it is considered a pasture pest.

<i>Cyclocephala lurida</i> Species of beetle (southern masked chafer)

Cyclocephala lurida, the southern masked chafer, is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae which is native to the southeastern United States. It is a brown beetle with a black head, with an adult length of 10 to 14 mm. The adult beetles cause no harm, but the eggs are laid underground and the developing larvae feed on grass roots and can kill turf under dry conditions.

<i>Zygogramma exclamationis</i> Species of beetle

Zygogramma exclamationis, commonly known as the sunflower beetle, is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family Zygogramma. It is regarded as a pest of sunflower crops in North America.

<i>Aulacophora foveicollis</i> Species of beetle

Aulacophora foveicollis, the red pumpkin beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is a foliar pest of members of the Cucurbitaceae, particularly the pumpkin. It is also a pest of millets in India.

References

  1. "Macrodactylus subspinosus (Fabricius, 1775)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  2. Baldo Villegas (2002-06-01). "Rose chafers". Sacramento Rose Website. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  3. 1 2 R. Isaacs, R. J. Mercader & J. C. Wise (2004). "Activity of conventional and reduced-risk insecticides for protection of grapevines against the rose chafer, Macrodactylus subspinosus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)". Journal of Applied Entomology . 128 (5): 371–376. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0418.2004.00861.x. S2CID   46167449. Archived from the original on 2013-01-06.
  4. 1 2 3 4 J. R. Baker. "Rose Chafer". Insects and Related Pests of Shrubs. North Carolina State University . Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  5. Hahn, Jeffrey. "Rose Chafers". Regents of the University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  6. 1 2 R. Williams; D. Fickle; C. Welty; M. Ellis. "Insects Attacking Flower Clusters and Berries". Ohio State University . Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  7. 1 2 S. Sweir. "Beetles on Ornamental Plants" (PDF). University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  8. J. J. Heath, R. N. Williams & P. L. Phelan (2002). "Aggregation and male attraction to feeding virgin females in Macrodactylus subspinosus (F.) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae)". Environmental Entomology . 31 (6): 934–940. doi: 10.1603/0046-225X-31.6.934 . S2CID   86079271.
  9. Rose chafers University of Minnesota Extension, accessed 2018