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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » 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
Phyllophaga (Phyllophaga) - Phyllophaga BG1532 223-027a - Phyllophaga cribrosa BG2979 E8210 - Phyllophaga micans Phyllophaga bipartita - female Melolonthinae? - Phyllophaga Scarab - Phyllophaga lanceolata 3036261 scarab - Phyllophaga Hairy Beetle - Phyllophaga
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea
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
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), 54 in SC(7)
Size
12‒25 mm
Identification
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 & 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
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 Unpublished thesis, Louisiana State U., Baton Rouge.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 23 December, 2024 - 7:31pm

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