Anyone have any idea what the grubs of this bug will do in my daylily beds? I went to Ace and bought a big bag of GRUBEX, but it has no info about using it in flower beds.

This is the first year I saw more than just two or three of these bugs. They were flying everywhere out there! I'm gettin scared!

I've been reading about them, and they sound nasty! And HUGE! I guess mostly they come out at night and eat organic matter, but will they eat my daylilies? Arrrgh! It's always gotta be something!!!

As a child we were not concerned about how to get rid of June Bugs, we would catch them tie a string on their leg and let them fly around in circles, no thoughts were given to the damage they did or how to control them. I see a few each year now, but I have never seen many or had any damage I could attribute to them. Sorry, I have no experience trying to treat for the grubs.

I see them eating the dead blooms and such but I've never had them do any damage. They do like to hang out in the open blooms though. I wouldn't worry about them.

Here is a gardening article about how control them if they do really become a pest and you end up with hundreds of them.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.c...

Mary, have you seen grubs in the flower beds?

Edited to add, Larry's link suggests Bt and milky spore. Milky spore does not work for June beetles (it's specific for Japanese beetles) and the Bt has to be a specific kind for white grubs.

This is from Purdue Extension:

http://purdueturftips.blogspot...

Larry, that is not this.

This is Cotinis Nitida:
http://purdueturftips.blogspot...
Adults typically emerge from the soil during July and heavily infested areas may appear to swarm with activity as the beetle fly about during the day. Adults feed on a variety of ripe fruits and vegetables and may also be attracted to the sap oozing from wounded trees. Emerging females secrete a milky fluid that attracts males to the soil surface for mating as shown in the accompanying video taken by Dr. Cliff Sadof (video 1).
After the eggs hatch, larvae (Fig. 2) begin feeding on organic matter by mining through the soil. This activity loosens the soil and may dislodge plant roots, sometime causing damage to turf. As the larvae develop, their burrows may reach 6-12 inches in depth. Soil displaced during this process is deposited at the soil surface creating mounds of soil that may attain 2-3 inches diameter (Fig. 3). On warm nights, especially following rain, larvae may emerge completely from their burrows, crawling considerable distances on their backs! (linked video 2) They have been known to end up on sidewalks and patios, or in garages and swimming pools!
It should be noted that insecticides applications targeting late instar larvae will often result in larvae dying on the surface. Mortality of large numbers of these larvae may create a problematic stench when conditions are conducive – take my word on this.

@josieskid
The photo of the beetle is not the same, but the article states that several beetles are know by the same common name, and I do believe that one of those mentioned is the Green June Beetle, or Cotinis Nitida. It states the control for all of them is the same.

Seedfork said:@josieskid
It states the control for all of them is the same.

Except that it isn't, as I mentioned above.

Ahh, that is true. I guess all the other methods are still the same. I did not care too much for the part about adding snakes!

Seedfork said:Ahh, that is true. I guess all the other methods are still the same. I did not care too much for the part about adding snakes!

I wonder how many they would actually eat since the adult beetles fly and the larvae are below ground. Usually skunks digging for the grubs are a giveaway that a lawn has white grubs.

I've found that mint attracts the scolid wasps and, after a few years the population of June Bugs here has begun to drop. It also lures in thread waisted wasps which, in combination with Four o'clocks as a trap plant, has greatly reduced the numbers of Japanese Beetles.

Sue, I just noticed that we posted the same link!

Part of my confusion is because I've only seen them trying to dig in my flower beds. They fly around the lawn from bed to bed. So the GRUBEX I bought only tells you how to spread it on the lawn.

Forgot to say, yes I've seen 2 or 3 of them in the beds, but not at night. I REFUSE to go out there in the dark!

That product may only be labeled for lawns, and that's where the grubs would mostly be anyway, but they could also be flying in from a neighbour's lawn. The active ingredient according to Google is chlorantraniliprole, the EPA factsheet for that is :

https://www3.epa.gov/pesticide...

One or two adults in the beds or grubs? A few of the grubs aren't likely to do much damage.

From: https://ag.umass.edu/turf/fact...

" Chlorantraniliprole (Acelepryn™ for commercial applicators, GrubEx™ for homeowners) is a relatively new insecticide from DuPont that has very low toxicity to vertebrates and no activity against bees, ants, or wasps. The product has a very low level of toxicity, so much so that a signal word is not required on the label, not even "Caution". It is extremely effective against all the species of white grubs we have in New England, as well as most caterpillars (such as cutworms, armyworms, and webworms). However, it takes 60 to 90 days to fully dissipate in the soil so for optimum effectiveness against grubs, it should be applied between mid April and early June. Applications after early June may result in reduced efficacy for grub control, but will still provide excellent protection against caterpillars."

Seedfork said:As a child we were not concerned about how to get rid of June Bugs, we would catch them tie a string on their leg and let them fly around in circles, no thoughts were given to the damage they did or how to control them. I see a few each year now, but I have never seen many or had any damage I could attribute to them. Sorry, I have no experience trying to treat for the grubs.

Eeeeeewwwww!!!!!!! Larry, that creeps me out. I HATE June bugs (shiver, shiver)!!!!

Moved aside mulch today to plant two new daylilies, and found quite a few of those big fat grubs, dead and turning black. The Grubex works! Last month, I had just gone around scattering handfuls of the stuff in the flower beds, on top of the mulch if need be. And it works!

Also, last year around this time, I used Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub for leafminer, and it helped immensely! I've seen a few leaves this summer that have them, but nothing compared to last year!

Also, the past two winters I've been watering my overwintering seedlings in the basement with the mosquito bits, for fungus gnats. Well, I've since learned that I need to start using it even while the seedlings are still outside. If you look close you'll see the gnats could already be there! And they can actually KILL your babies!

It's so nice to find weapons that work!

I have not been so concerned with the grubs, but moles eat them and tunnel everywhere in search of them. Several years ago we had masses of grubs, then the moles moved in. I am surprised so far they have not done real damage to my daylilies. I rarely find grubs when I dig now, I keep thinking the moles will go away from lack of food, but so far they are still tunneling, despite my cats catching one frequently.