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Spring Rose Beetle

Strigoderma arbicola (often written arboricola)[3]

The spring rose beetle (false Japanese beetle) is a half-inch scarab with a metallic green head and shield and brownish wing covers that chews pale rose, iris, peony and lily flowers, mostly in areas with sandy soil.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Coleoptera
Family
Scarabaeidae
US records
28 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Spring rose beetle with a metallic green head and brownish wing covers on a flower
Spring rose beetle with a metallic green head and brownish wing covers on a flower. (c) Michelle Orcutt, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Adults are about 3/8 to 1/2 inch long, slightly hairy, with a dull metallic green to greenish-black head and thorax and copper-brown to brownish-yellow wing covers.[1][2]
  • Unlike the Japanese beetle, it lacks the tufts of white hairs along the sides of the abdomen.[1][2]
  • The larvae are typical C-shaped white grubs in the soil.[1]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Japanese beetleVery similar, but the Japanese beetle has white hair tufts along its sides and appears about a month later.[1][2]
Rose chaferAnother sandy-soil beetle that feeds on rose blossoms.[2]

Where it lives

Found in sandy-soil areas from the Southeast north to Minnesota.[1][2]

US map: public records from 28 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

It overwinters as a grub about 7 inches deep in the soil and pupates in spring in an earthen cell.[1]

Adults emerge in mid-May to early June in Virginia and late June or early July in Minnesota, feed for a few weeks and live about 17 days on average.[1][2]

They are drawn to white and light-colored flowers.[1][2]

Damage and signs

  • Adults chew blossoms, leaves and fruit of roses, blackberry, iris, lilies, peonies, hollyhock, honeysuckle and clover; injury is mostly cosmetic unless beetles are abundant.[1][2]
  • Grubs feed on roots of pasture grasses, peanut, strawberry and sweet potato.[1]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Prevention

Avoid spraying or dusting flowers for this beetle because it harms pollinators.[1]

Keep them out

Protect prized blooms with light netting.[1]

Biological control

A parasitic nematode, Steinernema glaseri, infects the grubs.[1]

Common questions

Is this a Japanese beetle on my roses?
If it lacks white side tufts and appears in late spring, it may be the spring rose beetle.[1][2]
Why only on white roses?
It prefers pale and white flowers.[1][2]
How do I protect my roses?
Cover blooms with light netting rather than spraying flowers.[1]

Sources

  1. NC State Extension, “Spring Rose Beetle (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/spring-rose-beetle (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. University of Minnesota Extension (What insect is this? diagnostic pages), “False Japanese beetle.” apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/insect/garden/beetles/medium/fjapbeetle.html (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Strigoderma arbicola taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/359532 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.