Small Black June Beetle

2015 November 28

Rosie found this half-inch-long beetle on the swingset on June 27, 2015.

It has the body shape, legs, and antennae that I’ve come to expect from the many kinds of scarab beetles.

The antennae have the characteristic “fingers” at the tips.

It was fairly slow-moving, so I was able to get some shots of the underside.

From the size, shape, and coloration, I expect it is in the genus Serica. These are small June beetles, and with an estimated 110 species in the genus (all of which look pretty similar), I’m just going to leave this at the genus level.

The adults eat leaves from most deciduous trees, and the grubs live just under the surface and eat roots. I suppose that they can be pests when they get numerous enough, but no more so than other May/June beetles.

2 Responses
  1. November 28, 2015

    Cool photos! If this guy evolved before his predators did, wouldn’t he deforest the place?

  2. November 28, 2015

    Certainly he would. That sort of thing happens all the time. And then something learns to eat this suddenly plentiful food source, and the new predator (or parasite, or disease) knocks them back to a reasonable level. It is a lot like the “invisible hand” of free market capitalism. Ecology is a lot like economics when you think about it.

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