Rose Chafers
Rose chafers are small beetles (8-12mm long) tan coloured with a reddish brown head. They have long spiny legs.
Rose Chafers-Cooper Seeds
Description
Larvae are small and resemble white grubs. Eggs are shiny white and oval. Pupae are light brown and about 15mm long. They are more prevalent in sandier soils.
Lifecycle (left)-NC State University, Larvae (right)-Later’s
Habitat and Lifecycle
They occur in most of the USA except for the pacific states and in Eastern Canada. They overwinter as larvae and adults emerge in early may or june and begin to feed. They lay their eggs in sandy areas and grasslands. Eggs are laid in groups of up to 40 but individually and not in clusters. When larvae emerge they feed on roots of hosts.
Damage-Michigan State University
Diet and Damage
They attack not only roses but dahlias, peonies, carnations, geraniums, apples, peaches, grapes, wisteria, delphiniums, elm and many more ornamentals. They are voracious in great numbers. They eat the flowers and leaves of hosts. Damage consists of skeletonized leaves, defoliation and flower drop. Nymphs eat the roots of plants. These are extremely destructive to any plant or root.
Control
1) Hand Pick
Whenever you see them destroy immediately. These bugs are poisonous to chickens and livestock so take care to properly dispose of them. if you have had them in previous years, dig lightly around the soil and pick out the grubs in spring.
2) Row Covers
You would need to cover your rows while the beetles are in flight, most of June and the latter part of may.
3) Cultivate
Good cultivation practices will bring the larvae to the surface and you can hand pick and destroy.
June 21st, 2006 at 6:53 am
how do you get read of them i have alot of roses and thay are killing them
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Oh if you only knew how bad these buggers are!Every year for 10 years, and only for a few months during the summer. I have hand picked about a large coffee can a day, diped them in gas and burned them, they are still winning. I spray’d and they kept comming. Enough got under/over the floating row cover to do their dirty deed to my roses. Not to mention what they have done to my apples and cherrys etc etc..I soaped and sprayed sevin, they laughed. I bought chafer traps, they avoided them.milky spore, and beneficials haven’t helped. They seem to be in a small zone in the middle of about 30 acres. I own 5 of it.The majority of them cover about 10-15 acres and 1/4 mile up the road they have never seen them. I moved my house 5 years ago and tilled most of the land in the process.If these got loose in a orchard it would be hurrendous, any suggestions?
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:38 pm
You can try Sabadilla, this is an organic non toxic and also non selective insecticide. It paralyzes them in their tracks….sad genoicide but very effective. I recommended it (in my harlequin bug article) for infestations when populations were severe. Use it sparingly and selectively.
“Sabadilla Dust
Sabadilla is a broad spectrum insecticide that comes from the seeds of a lily indigenous to Central and South America. It affects the nerve cells of insects, causing paralysis and then death. It is primarily used for adult insects that are hard to control with other botanical insecticides. Although the dust is considered to be the least toxic of all registered botanical insecticides, the active alkaloids in its pure, extracted form are very toxic and can make a person sick if ingested or absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes. Sabadilla is highly toxic to honeybees and should only be used in the evening, after they have returned to their hives. It degrades rapidly in sunlight and air, leaving no harmful residues.”
Good luck.