The sugarcane beetle is a member of the scarab beetle family, belonging to the group of rhinoceros beetles. They are known for their digging instincts and will attempt to dig into any suitable substance. German entomologist Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister first described this species in 1847.
Size: 10.8-14.5 mm
Color: These beetles have a dull black body.
Other Characteristic Features: They have a sturdy cylindrical body with wrinkled elytra and a hard outer shell resembling a dome. These beetles also have thick, spiny legs that help them dig with ease. The indentation on their abdomen running vertically along the body look like stripes.
Larvae have a whitish, grub-like body characterized by brown legs and abdomen and a red head.
After 2-3 months, larvae begin to pupate, with the pupation phase lasting between 2 and 3 weeks. The pupa measuring about 19 mm are white at first, turning light brown eventually.
The eggs are white and smooth, with an oval shape. Upon maturation, they grow twice their size becoming somewhat spherical.
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Distribution | United States |
| Habitat | Urban areas like gas pumps and farmlands |
| Seasons active | Spring |
| Host plants | Decaying vegetation of crops like sugarcane, corn, cotton, and sweet potato |
| Diet of adults | Stalks of host plants |
The adult beetles mainly feed on corn, sugarcane, and sweet potato, chewing through the stalks resulting in big holes in the plants. This hampers the growth of the plants, causing them to die untimely. However, owing to their cyclic population, the damage to the crops is a little less intense.
The larva, however, causes less damage than the adults since they primarily feed on the soil.
Image Source: live.staticflickr.com, objects.liquidweb.service, news.utcrops.com, a4.pbase.com
The sugarcane beetle is a member of the scarab beetle family, belonging to the group of rhinoceros beetles. They are known for their digging instincts and will attempt to dig into any suitable substance. German entomologist Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister first described this species in 1847.
Size: 10.8-14.5 mm
Color: These beetles have a dull black body.
Other Characteristic Features: They have a sturdy cylindrical body with wrinkled elytra and a hard outer shell resembling a dome. These beetles also have thick, spiny legs that help them dig with ease. The indentation on their abdomen running vertically along the body look like stripes.
Larvae have a whitish, grub-like body characterized by brown legs and abdomen and a red head.
After 2-3 months, larvae begin to pupate, with the pupation phase lasting between 2 and 3 weeks. The pupa measuring about 19 mm are white at first, turning light brown eventually.
The eggs are white and smooth, with an oval shape. Upon maturation, they grow twice their size becoming somewhat spherical.
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Distribution | United States |
| Habitat | Urban areas like gas pumps and farmlands |
| Seasons active | Spring |
| Host plants | Decaying vegetation of crops like sugarcane, corn, cotton, and sweet potato |
| Diet of adults | Stalks of host plants |
The adult beetles mainly feed on corn, sugarcane, and sweet potato, chewing through the stalks resulting in big holes in the plants. This hampers the growth of the plants, causing them to die untimely. However, owing to their cyclic population, the damage to the crops is a little less intense.
The larva, however, causes less damage than the adults since they primarily feed on the soil.
Image Source: live.staticflickr.com, objects.liquidweb.service, news.utcrops.com, a4.pbase.com
