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Maladera formosae, commonly known as the Asiatic garden beetle and formerly known as Maladera castanea, is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.It is native to Japan, China, South Korea, North Korea, and Russia but was introduced to North America in the 1920s where it is considered a pest of turfs, gardens, and crop fields.
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.
Grubs grow up to 1 cm in length, have a slightly curved, legless body and are creamy white in colour with a tan-brown head. They live below the soil surface, and feed on roots and cambium at the base of trunks. They mostly cause damage to herbaceous plants, particularly those growing in containers, where root growth is restricted.
Many species are fossorial, with legs adapted for digging. In some groups males (and sometimes females) have prominent horns on the head and/or pronotum to fight over mates or resources. [4] The largest fossil scarabaeid was Oryctoantiquus borealis with a length of 50 millimetres (2.0 in). [5] A scarab beetle grub from Australia.
The larvae, known as "chafer grubs" or "white grubs", hatch four to six weeks after being laid as eggs. They feed on plant roots, for instance potato roots. The grubs develop in the earth for three to four years, in colder climates even five years, and grow continually to a size of about 4–5 cm, before they pupate in early autumn and develop ...
The grubs hatch by late July. The grub population consists mainly of first instars in early- to mid-August, second instars by early September, and third instars by mid-September to early October. In frost zones, the grubs feed until November, then move deeper into the soil. In frost-free areas, the larva will feed all winter.
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The grubs will grow to about 40 mm (1.6 in) and are white with a brownish-black head and brown spiracles along the sides of the body. The larvae will molt twice before winter. The fully grown larva color is glassy yellowish white shading toward green or blue at the head and tail.