The European Chafer Beetle is an invasive lawn pest that arrived in Delta around 2001. Since then its population has grown dramatically. The adults emerge from the ground in June to mate and lay eggs. Two weeks later the eggs hatch and the larvae voraciously feed on grass roots until next June. They seriously damage the turf, as do racoons and skunks that dig up the turf to reach the larvae. However, without these predators, the beetle population would be even larger.
Beetles
