An assignment on:

White Grub (Phyllophaga spp.)

spp.)

Submitted to:
Prof. Dr. Resham Bahadur Thapa
Dept. of Entomology
IAAS, Rampur, Chitwan

Submitted by
Praveen Sapkota
B.Sc. Ag 5th Semester
Class Roll no: 19
Exam Roll no:
IAAS, Rampur, Chitwan

2006

On the partial fulfillment of the course “principle and practices of insect pest management”

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 Table of Contents
S. No. Title Page no

1. White Grubs 1

2. Scientific classification 1

3. Order Coleoptera 1

4. Introduction 2

5. Biology 2

6. Distribution 2

7. Host plants 2

8. Damage 2

9. Description 3

10. Adult 3

11. Larva 3

12. Pupa 3

13. Eggs 3

14. Life cycle 3

15. True white grubs and early-season corn problems 4

i. Aphodius grubs, or manure grubs, may be common in heavily manured

fields. They rarely, if ever, cause stand loss.. 5

ii. True white grub with zipper-like parallel row of hairs on underside of tail 5

16. Diagnostic characters 5

i. Damage to plant 5

ii. Signs 6

iii. Factors favoring insect pest development 6

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 iv. Symptoms 6

v. Conformation 6

vi. Problems with similar symptoms 6

vii. Why and where it occurs? 6

viii. Causal agent or factor 6

ix. Host range 6

x. Mechanism of damage 7

xi. When damage is important? 7

xii. Economic importance 7

xiii. Management practices 7

17. Management 7

18. Control measures 7

i. White Grub Control Options 8

ii. Management through beetle control 8

iii. Management through grub control 8

iv. Cultural practices to control grubs 9

v. Biological control measure of white grub 9

vi. Bio-rational control 9

19. Summary
10

20. References 11

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White Grubs
Scientific name: Phyllophaga spp.
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Host plant: Maize
Distribution: Hills and Terai

Scientific Classification
Order: Coleoptera

The largest order by number of species is Coleoptera. One in five living animal species is
a beetle. Coleoptera usually have two pairs of wings. The front pair of wings, called
elytra, are thick and form a hard shell over the abdomen of the most beetles. Elytra meet
in a straight line down the middle of the back. Some have short elytra and may be
confused with earwigs but the caudal appendages on beetles are segmented rather a single

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piece like in earwigs. The hind wings are membranous and are folded under the front
wings when at rest. Mouthparts are formed for chewing in adult beetles and immature but
some are modified considerable for piercing or pollen feeding. Weevils may have a snout
which can be long and slender giving them the appearance of a sucking mouth but
mandibles are at the end.

Immature can have six legs or be legless almost maggot-like, and generally are called
grubs. They come in many sizes and shapes and include the wireworms, white grubs and
many others. Some are more worm-like. They generally short antennae, and a distant
head capsule. Prolegs are never present but there may be extensions or hooks on the end
of the abdomen.

Coleoptera is the largest order of insects, including about 1/4 of all known insects with
about 280,000 different species in the world. Food habits are varied. Some feed on living
plants; some are predaceous; some are scavengers; and others bore in wood. This order
includes some of the best known and most important of our insect enemies. Most of the
members are terrestrial, but some are aquatic. Perhaps the most famous members of this
group are lady beetles, June beetles and the cotton boll weevil.

Introduction
True white grubs are the larvae of May beetles (also called June Beetles) found in the
genus Phyllophaga, of which there are over 100 different species. Phyllophaga larvae
and other larvae of the family Scarabaeidae are often referred to as "white grubs",
including larvae of the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman), annual white grubs
(Cyclocephala spp.), and the green June beetle (Cotinis nitida Linnaeus).

Biology
Distribution - More than 200 species of white grubs are found throughout North
America. Common species include May beetles and green June beetles. May beetles are
most injurious throughout the North Central states and into New England. During
summer, they are often seen flying around lights at night. In North Carolina, green June
beetles are most commonly reported in the Piedmont and mountain areas, maybe because
forage and pasture acreage is concentrated in these areas. Populations of most grub
species tend to be highest in older plantings of sod, or in soils high in decomposing
organic matter.

Host Plants - White grubs feed on the roots of corn, timothy, Kentucky bluegrass,
sorghum, soybean, strawberry, potato, barley, oat, wheat, rye, bean, turnip, and to a lesser
degree, other cultivated crops. They also infest various pasture grasses, lawns, and
nursery plantings. The adults, which are strongly attracted to fragrant flowers and ripe
fruits, feed on the foliage of forest, shade and fruit trees.

Damage - Damage by white grubs is usually most severe when corn is planted following
sod. In this case, root feeding can be so severe that plants may grow no taller than 30 to

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60 cm (1 or 2 feet). If the root system is badly damaged, injured plants will eventually die
and can be easily pulled from the ground. Even light infestations usually result in
increased lodging and reduce yield. The corn will show a patches growth with carrying
sized areas in the field where the plants are dead to dying. If the injured plant are pulled
up, the root will be found to have been eaten off, and from 1 to as many as 200 white
curved bodied grubs, from ½ to over 1 inch in length, will be found in the soil about the
roots.

White grubs are sensitive to differences in soil moisture and texture. Since these factors
are not uniform throughout any given field, a white grub infestation, likewise, is not
uniform. Therefore, within the same field, some areas may be completely destroyed while
others are undamaged.

Description:
White grubs are the larvae of Scarab beetles. There are more than 20 species of these
beetles whose grubs might be found damaging plants. The adults are fairly heavy-bodied
insects; most with long, spindly legs. They range in color from light, reddish-brown to
shiny black and in size from ½ inch to over 1" in length. The grubs are white with a
brown head and legs and with a darker area at the tip of the abdomen. They curl up in a
C-shape when disturbed. Fully grown grubs of larger species are 1" or more in length.

Adult: May beetles are about 12 to 25 mm long. The adults often are yellow to dark
reddish-brown to black, robust, oblong, shining beetles. The June beetle is dull velvety
green on top, brownish yellow on the sides, and shiny green and orange yellow
underneath.

Larva: Young May beetle grubs are creamy white and about 5 mm long. Fully grown
grubs range from 20 to 45 mm long depending upon the species. They are C-shaped and
creamy white, with distinct brown heads. Except for scattered hairs and six distinct
forelegs, the body is shiny and smooth. Two rows of hairs on the underside of the last
segment distinguish white grubs from similar grubs. Green June beetle larvae are about
48 mm long when fully grown and have the curious habit of crawling on their backs.

Pupa: Approximately the same size as the adult, the pupae may be creamy white, pale
yellow or dark brown. Actually length varies from 20 to 24 mm long.

Egg: Eggs are usually 1.5 to 3 mm in diameter and found encased in soil aggregates. The
egg is a dull they are small, spherical, pearly white eggs that darken just before hatching.

Life Cycle

The Phyllophaga life cycles vary somewhat because some species complete their growth
in one year, while others require as much as four years. The common life cycle of the
more destructive and abundant of these beetles extends over three years. The adults mate
in the evening and, at dawn, females return to the ground to deposit 15 to 20 eggs, 1 to 8
inches deep in the soil. Since the adults are attracted to trees to feed, they tend to lay most

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eggs in the higher portions of sod near wooded areas. Eggs hatch about three weeks later
into young larvae that feed upon roots and decaying vegetation throughout the summer
and, in the autumn, they migrate downward (to a depth of up to 1.5 meters) and remain
inactive until the following spring. At this point in the insect's life cycle the greatest
amount of damage occurs as the larvae return near the soil surface to feed on the roots of
the plants. The next autumn the larvae again migrate deep into the soil to over winter,
returning near the soil surface the following spring (the third spring) to feed on plant
roots until they are fully grown in late spring. These grubs then form oval earthen cells
and pupation follows. The adult beetles emerge from the pupal stage a few weeks later,
but they do not leave the ground. The beetles over winter, emerging the following year in
May or June when feeding, mating, and egg-laying take place.

True white grubs and early-season corn problems

True white grubs may cause early-season stand reduction in corn. Because the past winter
was extremely mild, survival of many soil dwelling insects may be much higher than
during an average or colder-than-average winter.

As with most soil insects, it is difficult to predict when and where true white grubs will
be found. Problems can be expected in cornfields following pasture or grassy
Conservation Reserve Program ground. But stand loss also occurs in both continuous and
rotated corn, and in Iowa the problem is usually, but not always, found adjacent to areas
bordered by cottonwood or willow trees. Sometimes true white grubs are found far from
trees and the reason for their occurrence in a field remains a mystery.

Three groups of white grubs are found in Iowa croplands: the true white grub, which can
cause significant stand loss in corn, and the annual white grub and Aphodius or "manure"

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grub, which do not cause stand loss. True white grubs kill seedling plants by feeding on
the roots. They have a 3-year life cycle and can cause stand loss during 2 years of their 3-
year cycle.

i. Aphodius grubs, or manure grubs, may be common in heavily manured

fields. They rarely, if ever, cause stand loss...

If white grub stand loss has occurred in a field then dig in the soil a couple of days before
planting, especially near these wooded areas and where previous stand loss was noticed.
Spring tillage also can expose white grubs on the soil surface, and birds landing in the
field is a good indicator that there is some insect that they are eating. If grubs are found,
collect and correctly identify them to determine their potential for economic damage to
corn. Both kinds of white grubs are C-shaped, creamy white, and covered with tiny
bristles. True white grubs can be separated from annual white grubs by examining the
pattern of hairs on the raster (the belly side of the last tail segment). The raster of the true
white grub has a narrow, smooth space with two rows of parallel bristles (patterned like a
zipper). Also, there are many scattered bristles on either side of the zipper. Annual white
grubs have scattered bristles on the raster, but no distinct pattern like the zipper.

ii.True white grub with zipper-like parallel row of hairs on underside of tail

Entomologists at North Dakota State University have estimated that one or more true
white grubs per cubic foot of soil can cause stand loss in seedling corn. This threshold is
also reasonable for Iowa. If true white grubs are found, use a soil insecticide at planting.
There are no rescue treatments after true white grub damage occurs. If a corn stand is
severely damaged and must be replanted, use a soil insecticide that is labeled for white
grubs during the replanting. Unfortunately, there are no good data that would suggest
which insecticides are best for true white grub control.

Insecticides labeled for true white grub control in corn include Aztec, Capture, Counter,
Force, Fortress, Lorsban, Prescribe (seed treatment), ProShield (seed treatment), Regent,
and Thimet. Read and follow the label directions regarding amount of product per acre
and chemical placement.

Diagnostic characteristics:

Damage to plant
Fed-upon roots or root loss
Abnormal plant height
Color of the plant
Orange-yellow leaves
Wilting

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Signs
• Ovoid and creamy white eggs
• Adults feeding on the leaves
• Grubs or larvae feeding on the roots
Factors favoring insect pest development
• Plants with fibrous root system
• Soil moisture requirements
• Upland and rainfed wetland rice environments
Symptoms
• Orange-yellow leaves
• Wilting plants
• Stunted plants
• Root loss
Conformation
The presence of the insect pest can confirm the symptom damage on the crop. The rice
crop can be visually inspected for the damages such as damaged roots, abnormal height,
and yellowish color of plants.
Problems with similar symptoms
Other insect pests such as mealy bugs and root aphids also cause plant stunting. The
orange-yellow leaf symptom is similar in appearance to nutrient deficiency.
Why and where it occurs?

Root grubs generally prefer plants with fibrous root system. Root grubs are widespread in
upland and rainfed rice environments. The adults are nocturnal and are attracted to light
traps. Eggs are laid and developed in moist soil made by the burrowing females. In the
soil, they usually remain close to where moisture is available.

Causal agent or factor

Fact the adult beetle is black or dark brown in color. Its pronotum is not margined except
for its lateral edges. The male has a longer antennal club than the female adult. While the
female has a broader tibial spur with a rounded end, the male has a slender and pointed
tibial spur. The pupa is dark brown. The grub is creamy white and has a pair of
sclerotized mandibles. Three pairs of prominent legs are visible on the thoracic area and
its body is curled in a C-shaped position. The eggs are pearly white and elongated or
ovoid in shape.

Host range

Aside from the maize plant, root grubs prefer plants with a fibrous root system such as
rice, millet, sorghum, sugarcane and various grasses.

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Mechanism of damage

The adults feed on the leaves while the grubs feed on the roots of maize plants by digging
through the soil.

When damage is important?

Root grubs feed on maize during the seedling stage of the crop. During drought, damage
caused by the insect pest is higher.

Economic importance

White grubs are minor insect pests of maize and in upland rice. Both the adults and larvae
feed on the leaves and roots, respectively.

Management practices

The population of root grubs is generally controlled by natural biological control agents.
Scolid wasps parasitize the larvae. Carabid beetles, birds, toads, bats, and storks also eat
the larvae and adults. The larvae are also infected by fungal pathogens.

Management

Although white grubs can be a problem every year, the most serious damage occurs in
regular three year cycles. The greatest damage to crops occurs the year after the
appearance of the adults. During the years of heavy May beetle infestation, deep-rooted
legumes, such as alfalfa or clovers, should be planted. If corn or small grains are present,
every effort should be made to keep the field free of grass and weed growth, as this will
reduce the number of eggs laid. The year following heavy flights of May beetles, planting
corn or potatoes should be avoided in fields that were previously under sod or grass.

Late spring or early autumn plowing destroys many larvae, pupae, and adults in the soil
and also exposes the insects to predators, such as birds and skunks. For this cultural
practice to be effective, plowing must occur before the grubs migrate below the plow
depth. No-tillage or reduced tillage crop management enhances grub populations.

Natural enemies that control these white grubs include parasitic wasps and flies in the
genera Tiphia and Myzinum (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae), and Pelecinus polyturator Drury
(Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae), and the fly, Pyrgota undata (Diptera: Pyrgotidae). Also,
Cordyceps fungus infects the grubs.

Control measures
As with other soil dwelling pests, control with insecticides is difficult. Best results occur
when treatments are applied to young grubs, generally in August. Larger grubs are more
difficult to control and may require more than one treatment. Management of soil
moisture will improve results. White grubs are among the most destructive soil insects in

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North America. True white grubs may be easily confused with several other grubs
infesting corn roots. However, the damage inflicted and the control methods employed
are identical for most grubs and their close relatives. (In the strictest sense only species of
Phyllophaga are white grubs. Other similar larvae of the insect family Scarabaeidae are
often referred to as "white grubs" also. These include larvae of the Japanese beetle,
Newman; the green June beetle, Cotinis nitida (Linnaeus); and annual white grubs,
Cyclocephala spp.

The cultural practices of late-spring and early-fall plowing or disking provide control in
areas where predaceous birds occur (e.g., the Atlantic Coastal Plain). Crop rotation,
however, is the most effective cultural control method. Deep-rooted legumes, like alfalfa
and clovers, are excellent crops with which to rotate corn or small grains, especially
following years of unusually heavy May beetle flights.

White Grub Control Options

White grubs are the immature stages of several species of scarab beetles. They are
recognized as one of the most difficult groups of turf pests to manage. Some of the more
common grub species include Japanese beetles, European chafers, Oriental beetles and
Asiatic garden beetles. Most turf infesting beetles have a 1-year life cycle. Japanese
beetles and June beetles hatch from eggs deposited in June or July. They cause their most
serious damage in summer and fall before moving deeper into the soil to over winter.

Management through beetle control

1. The preferred hosts of beetles are sprayed with carbaryl 0.2% or monocrotophos
0.05% during day time with the onset of monsoon. No time gap is given between
the onset of rain and spraying and efforts be made to spray all the preferred hosts
within 3-4 days of the first emergence of the beetles. If there is a premonsoon rain
after 15th may two spraying be done, one with premonsoon and other with regular
monsoon. This method is effective for all the white grub species.
2. As an alternative to spraying mechanical collection of beetles be done during the
night by jerking the host trees, collecting the fallen beetles and killing them in
kerosenized water. Where host trees are not available nearly, cut branches of host
trees like neem may be planted in the evening to attract the beetles for collection.
3. Light trap be set up in endemic areas to collect the beetles with the onset of
monsoon in June July coinciding with emergence of beetle and the trapped beetles
be destroyed.
4. Whenever beetles of pollen eating species are problem they can be controlled by
light trapping, trash burning and dusting with BHC 10% dust @ 25kg/ha.

Management through grub control

1. Whenever beetle control is not possible and crops like maize is to be protected
pre-sowing soil application of phorate 10G of quinalophos 5 G both at the rate of
25kg/ha of BHC 10% dust 125kg.ha be done in furrow.
2. In standing crops chlorpyriphos 20ec or quinalphos 25EC @4lit/ha be applied
with irrigation.

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 3. In March –April deep ploughing of fallow lands should be undertaken with a view
to expose the immature state i.e. grubs and pupae of this pest for predation by the
avian predators’ viz. crow, mynahs. Besides grubs and pupae exposed during the
ploughing should be collected and destroyed.
4. Farmers should apply only well decomposed farmyard manure in fields. The
partly decomposed FYM provides congenial conditions to survive the newly
hatched grubs.
5. Sowing of tolerant crops viz. amaranthus, buckwheat, maize, and horse gram in
the severely infested areas is recommended which are less damaged by the grubs
when compared with millets, vegetables etc.
6. Deep ploughing of fallow lands in august- September to expose the third instar
grubs for predatory birds is quite effective in reducing the population.

Cultural practices to control grubs:

1. In endemic areas summer fodder crops provide suitable place for survival of large
number of grubs. These fields are ploughed from end of July to middle of august,
after taking the last cutting to expose the grubs to predatory birds. If predatory
birds are absent a man with a bucket in hand may follow the plough and pick up
the exposed grubs. Two cross ploughing may expose about 70% of grubs present
in the field.
2. Early (premonsoon, irrigation) sowing of crops should be done to allow roots to
get established so that a certain level of grub population may be tolerated by the
crops without any noticeable damage. This will be useful in areas where grub
population is quite low and should be adopted as an adhoc strategy. If this is
practiced over the years it will increase the population of the pest.

Biological control measure of white grub:

There are no any known effective biological agents which can bring down the white grub
population to a non pest level in a short time. However, the impact of biological agents
was found effective when congenital conditions prevail. Large number of predators,
Parasitoids and entomogemous microbes was recorded.
1. An insect predator, the common crock beetle was observed to prey upon the
beetles of H. longipennis during night hours. The emergence of predatory beetles
coincides with the emergence of scarab beetles in June – July. In lab. Conditions,
the predation efficiency of predator was observed to be 1-6 beetles/24hr.
2. The spotted owlet and grey jungle fowl were observed to prey upon the beetles
settled on various host plants during evening hours.

Bio-rational control: The bio-rational control measures are recently developed and
adopted to control the white grubs. Bio-rational controls used in combination may impart
a synergistic mortality on grub populations. This may occur if the two agents attack
different sub-populations (i.e., grubs feeding at different depths) or if one agent (i.e. sub-
lethal dose of merit) predisposes an insect to another agent.

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Summary:
White grubs are the pests of national Importance and are a serious constraint to almost all
the kharif crops grown under rainfed conditions. Both the grubs and adults are
polyphagus and univoltine in nature. No single control measure is effective for their
management hence is the only option for their effective management in the hilly zone.

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Selected References

• Buss EA. (July 2002). White grub biology and management. EDIS.
• Davidson RH, Lyon WF. 1979. Insect Pests of Farm, Garden, and Orchard. John
Wiley and Sons. New York. pp. 126-128.
• Jaques HE. 1951. How to Know the Beetles. WM. C. Brown Company. Dubuque,
Iowa. pp. 241.
• Koehler PG, Short DE, Fasulo TR. (1998).
• Luginbill P Sr, Painter HR. 1953. Rev. Phyllophaga. U.S. Department of
Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1060, 102pp.
• Metcalf RL, Metcalf RA. 1993. Destructive and Useful Insects: Their Habits and
Control. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. New York.
• Mizell RF, Fasulo TR, Short DE. (May 1998). Woody Pest. UF/IFAS.
• North Carolina Corn Information. (1998). White grubs
• Ritcher PO. 1966. White grubs and their allies: a study of North American
scarabaeoid larvae. Oregon State Monograph Studies in Entomology 4:1-219.
• Rolston LH, Barlow T. 1980. Insecticide control of a white grub, Phyllophaga
ephilida Say, (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) on sweet potato. Journal of the Georgia
Entomological Society 15:445-449.
• Sorensen KA. (May 1988). Insect pests of vegetables. North Carolina
Agricultural Extension Service AG-404.
• Stehr FW. 1991. Immature Insects (Volume 2). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.
Dubuque, Iowa. pp. 378-385.
• Tashiro H. 1973. Bionomics and control of root feeding insect pests: grubs and
billbugs. Bulletin of the Entomological Society of America 19:92-94.
• Woodruff RE, Beck BM. 1989.The Scarab Beetles of Florida (USA): (Coleoptera:
Scarabaeidae) Part II. The May or June beetles (genus Phyllophaga). Arthropods
of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas 13: I-vi, 1-226.

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