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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles (Scarabaeoidea) » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Rhinoceros Beetles (Dynastinae) » Pentodontini » Euetheola » Sugarcane Beetle (Euetheola humilis)

Species Euetheola humilis - Sugarcane Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Rhinoceros Beetle (Dynastinae)? - Euetheola humilis

Euetheola humilis rugiceps (LeConte) - Euetheola humilis

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)

Superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles)

Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)

Subfamily Dynastinae (Rhinoceros Beetles)

Tribe Pentodontini

Genus Euetheola

Species humilis (Sugarcane Beetle)

Other Common Names

Rough-headed Cornstalk Borer

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Euetheola rugiceps. Ligyrus rugiceps LeConte, 1856.

Explanation of Names

See genus guide page for genus. Humilis is Latin for lowly, humble. (Based on Internet searches.) So this is the "Truly (?) Divine" (Euetheola), but humble (humilis) scarab.

Numbers

Subspecies rugiceps is found in North America (1)

Size

13-15 mm

Identification

Black, cylindrical, surface, esp. elytra, rugose (wrinkled). Clypeus has two blunt teeth. Distinctive punctures on striae of elytra. Note hind tarsi for differentiation from Rice Beetle, Dyscinetus morator. See images below for details:

Range

Eastern United States, from Oklahoma and Kentucky southward. Species extends into neotropics and to South America.

Habitat

Fields, agricultural lands.

Season

February-November in South Carolina

Food

Adults feed on stalks of such plants as cotton, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, and corn.

Life Cycle

One brood per year, at least in temperate areas. Adults overwinter in well-drained soil. Adults fly, and are attracted to lights, March-September. Mating occurs in soil and females lay up to 100 eggs over their lifespan. Larvae feed on decaying vegetation in soil. Larvae pupate after two to three months, pupal stage lasts about two weeks.

See Also

Rice Beetle, Dyscinetus morator

Print References

Harpootlian, p. 112, fig. 224 (1)

Swan and Papp, p. 437, fig. 913 (2)

Papp, p. 192, fig. 654 (3)

Brimley, p. 206, noted from eastern North Carolina, April-July (4)

Internet References

IPM images

Invasive.org

Turfgrass.org--states they do not damage turfgrasses

Louisiana State University--fact sheet, excellent photos and life history

Abundant in North Carolina State University Entomology Collection, with 273 pinned.

Works Cited

1.	Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina By Phillip J. Harpootlian

2.	The Common Insects of North America By Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp

3.	Introduction to North American Beetles By Charles S. Papp

4.	Insects of North Carolina By C.S. Brimley

Contributed by Cotinis on 27 July, 2004 - 9:34pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset
Last updated 17 May, 2007 - 2:38am

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