Ok ,
I need help…. Bad. I just had both of my hips replaced the last one in Feb. I was out walking in my yard, I live out in the Country in Missouri, near Kansas City. I was swarmed by what I thought at the time was Bees, flying around me. I did my best to try and run, but not good at that as of yet.I just knew I was doomed… Ok, I didn’t get stung. A guy was at my home to work on something and I asked him to go out and see what there were,….BEETLES…. LOTS of Beetles. Close in size to June bugs, not as tall or thick, but length wise close. When flying, I thought they looked like bees, yellow jackets or something. Because they have yellow showing when in flight. When captured…They are a Green Metallic,all across the back,but tipped in yellow, and at the point if you can call it that, of the bottom, they are yellow too. Alsothe under side is yellow around the base of the legs, than metallic green down the leg. (I hate Bugs)Really bad…. Now I have thousands of t
hese beetles, Someone said Japanese Beetles, but in photos,they are shaped somewhat different and are a brownish on the back, these have no red, or brown… Please Help me…. Susan N. Photography Liberty, Missouri
Dear Susan,
I think you have been terrorized by GREEN JUNE BEETLES, Cotinus nitida. Here is some information as well as a drawing I discovered on two websites:
DESCRIPTION
Adult — The beetle is 15 to 22 mm long with dull, velvety green wings. Its head, legs, and underside are shiny green, and its sides are brownish-yellow. Joe Boggs reported that GREEN JUNE BEETLES, Cotinus nitida, are terrorizing backyard gardeners, sunbathers, small pets, etc., as they buzz lawns in southern Ohio. These big, metallic green beetles tend to emerge en masse. Their large size, coupled with an audible "buz
zing" sound and low level flight plan (cruising at about 2 to 3 feet) may induce mild panic in those individuals unfamiliar with this insect. Adults feed on tree leaves as a skeletonizer. Fortunately, they rarely cause significant plant injury. Their primary goal is to locate turf with high levels of organic matter (e.g. thatch) in which to lay eggs. Lawns covered with partially composted manures have also been found to be highly attractive to the adults and they may burrow into cool compost piles, under decomposing manure and into decayed mulch. It has been speculated that this attraction to decomposing organic matter explains why adults tend to show-up in large numbers on certain lawns while ignoring surrounding turf. Unlike other Scarab beetle larvae such as Japanese beetle grubs, green June beetle grubs burrow 10 to 12 inches into the soil and they remain closely associated with these burrows. The grubs do venture out at night, especially after heavy rains, to feed
on thatch and other organic matter and they occasionally find their way onto driveways, sidewalks and into swimming pools. Despite their large size, green June beetle larvae seldom cause injury to turf equal to that caused by Japanese beetles or masked chafers.