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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles (Scarabaeoidea) » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » May Beetles and Junebugs (Melolonthinae) » Rhizotrogini » May Beetles (Phyllophaga)

Genus Phyllophaga - May Beetles

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

Brown May Beetle - Ventral - Phyllophaga

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)

Superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles)

Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)

Subfamily Melolonthinae (May Beetles and Junebugs)

Tribe Rhizotrogini

Genus Phyllophaga (May Beetles)

Other Common Names

June Bugs, June Beetles

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

our fauna revised in (1)

Explanation of Names

Phyllophaga Harris 1827

'leaf-eater'

Numbers

>400 spp. in our area(2), ~840 total(3); 86 in e NA(4), at least 54 in FL(5); 35 in NE(6)

Size

Adult 12-25 mm, larva 20-45 mm

Identification

key to SC species in(7)

Species are best identified by examination of genitalia (both males and females can be used). Details that can be very helpful, per Blaine Mathison's comment:

complete antennomeres (9 vs 10 segments)

dorsal habitus (especially with good view of clypeus)

meso- and metatibial spurs

meso- and metatarsal claws

Male genitalia:

Female genitalia:

Range

throughout the Americas(3)

Food

Larvae: roots and decaying vegetation in the soil (known from grass roots, beneath nests of Pogonomyrmex, various crops, bluestem grasses)

Adults: leaves of various plants

See Also

Cyclocephala, Diplotaxis, Serica, Amphimallon majale

Print References

(8)

Riley E.G. (1988) The Phyllophaga of Louisiana (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Unpublished thesis, Louisiana State U., Baton Rouge. xiv + 436 pp.

Works Cited

1.	May Beetles of the United States and Canada Luginbill and Painter. 1953. USDA Technical Bulletin No. 1060.

2.	American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.

3.	Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles (by Brett Ratcliffe and Mary Liz Jameson)

4.	Beetles of Eastern North America Arthur V. Evans. 2014. Princeton University Press.

5.	The Scarab Beetles of Florida Robert Woodruff. 1973. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

6.	The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.

7.	Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.

8.	Revision of the scarabaeid beetles of the phyllophagan subgenus Listrochelus of the United States, with discussion... L.W. Saylor. 1940. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 89(3095): 59-130.

Contributed by Cotinis on 20 April, 2004 - 6:51am
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Phillip Harpootlian, Bbarnd, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, ceiseman, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 6 November, 2022 - 11:11pm

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