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Insects and other arthropods

Grapevine beetle

English
Pelidnota punctata

Tabs group

Description

These large, oval beetles are 1.7 to 3 cm long. Their colour varies from yellowish orange to reddish brown. Their short antennae end in clubs made of plates called lamellae, which unfurl into a fan.

Their elytra (wing covers) have three black dots on the side and a fine black line on the dorsal portion. Southern specimens have light brown legs, while northern ones have darker legs.

The fleshy grubs are whitish and C-shaped, and may be up to 5 cm long.

Life cycle

These insects complete their life cycle in two years. The adults emerge in the summer. After mating, the females lay their eggs in rotting wood or nearby, in the ground. The larvae hatch two weeks later, and feed on rotten wood for the first summer. They overwinter in the soil and start eating again in the spring. They pupate in the soil, and then the adults appear and take flight.

Geographic distribution

They range across eastern Canada and in the northern part and along the east coast of the United States.