Editing Japanese beetle (section)

== Life cycle ==
{{wide image|Japanese-beetle-life-cycle-Joel-Floyd.png|640px|Life cycle of the Japanese beetle. Larvae feed on roots underground, while adults feed on leaves and stems.}}
[[File:Jbeggs.jpg|thumb|upright|A typical cluster of Japanese beetle [[Egg (biology)|eggs]]]]
[[File:Japanese beetle pupa moulting 2017.jpg|thumb|A Japanese beetle pupa shortly after [[moulting]]]]

Eggs are laid individually or in small clusters near the soil surface.<ref name=Fleming1972>{{cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=WE |title=Biology of the Japanese beetle |journal=USDA Technical Bulletin |date=1972 |volume=1449}}</ref> Within approximately two weeks, the [[Egg cell|ova]] hatch, then the [[Larva|larvae]] feed on fine roots and other organic material. As the larvae mature, they become c-shaped [[Beetle#Life cycle|grubs]], which consume progressively coarser roots and may do economic damage to pasture and turf at this time.

Larvae [[hibernation|hibernate]] in small cells in the soil, emerging in the spring when soil temperatures rise again.<ref name=Fleming1972 /> Within 4–6 weeks of breaking hibernation, the larvae will pupate. Most of the beetle's life is spent as a larva, with only 30–45 days spent as an [[imago]]. Adults feed on leaf material above ground, using [[Pheromone|pheromones]] to attract other beetles and overwhelm plants, skeletonizing leaves from the top of the plant downward. The aggregation of beetles will alternate daily between mating, feeding, and [[Ovipositor|ovipositing]]. An adult female may lay as many as 40–60 ova in her lifetime.<ref name=Fleming1972 />

Throughout the majority of the Japanese beetle's range, its life cycle takes one full year; however, in the extreme northern parts of its range, as well as high-altitude zones as found in its native Japan, development may take two years.<ref name=USDA2015>{{cite web |last1=ODA |title=Or egon Department of Agriculture Insect Pest Prevention & Management Program Oregon.gov/ODA Rev: 3/ 30 /2017 2 Japanese Beetle Eradication Response Plan 2017 |url=https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/shared/Documents/Publications/IPPM/JapaneseBeetleResponsePlan.pdf |website=www.oregon.gov/ODA/ |publisher=Oregon Department of Agriculture |access-date=31 May 2017 |archive-date=7 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707011149/http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/shared/Documents/Publications/IPPM/JapaneseBeetleResponsePlan.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>