As their name suggests, Japanese beetles are not native to the continental USA. In fact, they’re relatively recent arrivals…well…recent in terms of geologic time. They arrived (in an iris shipment) in 1916, and rapidly established themselves in New Jersey, of all places. Now, in the 21st Century, Japanese beetles are firmly established in the eastern USA, and—like humans before them—are spreading west. In the state of Illinois, their numbers continue to rise. As I consider quite a number of pest insects to be suitable pet insects, this doesn’t bother me. It’s rather amusing to watch them fly (clumsily) or to consider their wonderful fashion sense. Only an insect, after all, can get away with wearing iridescent green, copper, and furry, black undergarments with white polka-dots. As Japanese beetles respond to scent more than sight, I wonder at the purpose of their distinctive sartorial expression. I took this photograph last summer. As always, I’d been prowling through Chicago with Corey and my camera, and I noticed this beetle immediately. In fact, I noticed the beetle before I noticed the flower. It’s been said that if there’s a bug anywhere, I’ll find it. This isn’t entirely true, but if there’s a cute “bug” anywhere, I’ll probably notice it…eventually. I have yet to meet an ugly bug, however. I find this photograph to be a bit unusual, as Japanese beetles are known to feed on leaf matter rather than nectar or petals. They are considered a pest species because of their habit of skeletonizing plants. They prefer soft-leaf material and will habitually consume leaves, while leaving their vascular network intact, rather like the bones of a carefully-eaten chicken. Of course, as larvae, they’re a bit less discriminating and will simply devour plant roots. Though Japanese beetles are a pest species in North America, they’re easily controlled in Japan. Their arrival in the USA has been documented and New Jersey is the first state to experience Japanese Beetle infestation. This was back in 1916, and now most of the Northeastern USA is Japanese beetle territory…and they’re spreading west and a bit south too. As far as I know, there are no substantial Japanese beetle populations west of the Rocky Mountains, but they are apparently interested in the Midwest, as their numbers here are on the rise. Various methods of control have been employed, but success is dubious at best. I would think that importing natural controls for these insects would be far more logical than developing dangerous pesticides. Anchor bugs (a type of shield insect—those “stink bug” sorts of insect-people) and a species of bacteria known as milky spore actively feed on Japanese beetles. Garlic and catnip and chives have been shown to repel these insects. As I have something of a warped sense of humor, I find it inordinately hilarious that pheromone traps, intended to control such insect populations simply increase them. Pheromone traps are one of those bad ideas that simply doesn’t take insect logic into account. As their name implies, such devices/structures are intended to attract and trap adult insects, but in reality, they simply draw Japanese beetles out of their normal territories and introduce them to new and tasty gardens. (Japanese beetles seem to have a short attention span…they’ll approach a pheromone trap and become immediately distracted by any edible plant growing between them and the trap. Their increased numbers will draw others, and new beetle colonies will arise, devour a swath of territory, and move on, long before any of them remembers that they were supposed to head for the traps in the first place. This amuses me to no end, but that's probably because I'm odd. As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week. Things are still hectic, but I hope to comment and catch up at some point this week.