Polyphylla Fullo

Polyphylla Fullo 

a beetle of the family Scarabeidae; a dangerous pest of trees and vineyards that grow on sandy soils. Body length, up to 3.8 cm. The black, brown, or reddish brown elytra have a characteristic marble design of white spots. The larvae of Polyphylla fullo resemble those of the June beetle.

The beetle is distributed in middle and southeastern Europe; in the USSR it is found in Byelorussia, the Ukraine, and the Volga Region. The beetles fly in July evenings and nights; they feed on the leaves and needles of trees. The females deposit their eggs in the soil. Development continues for three years; in extremely dark places, development may take up to four years. Young larvae feed on humus and the roots of herbaceous plants; older larvae gnaw through the roots of shrubs and trees and cause desiccation of the plants.

Control measures include the use of high-quality seeds and planting stock, treatment of seedling roots or furrows and plantings with insecticides, direct application of insecticides to the soil, and leaving the soil fallow and treating it repeatedly with insecticides when the pests are most numerous.

N. N. KHRAMTSOV