Green June Beetle

These large beetles feed on sweet corn, blackberries, and peaches. They look much like the common May beetle, or June bug, but have a dull, velvety green color. The underside is more of an iridescent green. These beetles have poor navigational skills and seem to fly until they hit something. They also make a buzzing sound somewhat like a bumblebee. Unfortunately, they are also about the size of a bumblebee and so cause concern for many gardeners even though they cannot harm people. As noted above, they may damage crops.

A number of general-use insecticides, including carbaryl (Sevin dust) and malathion, may be used to discourage feeding. See table below for what can be used and the number of days between application and harvest.​

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Insecticide	Peaches	Blackberries, raspberries	Sweet Corn
Carbaryl*	3**	7	2
Malathion	7	1	-----

* Carbaryl is found in Sevin Ready to Use and Sevin Dust but not in Sevin Ready to Spray or Sevin Concentrate.

** Days to harvest

 

​Carbaryl has a two-day waiting period between spraying and harvest on sweet corn and a three-day waiting period on peaches. There is a seven-day waiting period for Sevin on blackberries, so malathion, with a one-day waiting period, may be a better choice.  (Ward Upham)