Long-haired June beetle

Eastern Washington

Long-haired June Beetle

The long-haired June beetle or Polyphylla crinita is found inhabiting sandy locations in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. These beetles buzz about loudly at night, attracted to lights. The hissing sound of this scarab beetle may attract attention when trapped in the web of the black widow spider, where I've found it caught a few times. Its larvae feed on sod and the roots of various shrubs and trees, including fruit trees, and may stress or kill them. Adult beetles are feed on conifer needles.

The larva of these June beetles are host to the scarab hunter wasp, a parasitoid that burrows underground in search of scarab larva and helps keep them in check in ecologically healthy areas. As adult beetles, they provide food for night-hunting animals including coyotes and pallid bats.

The related look-alike, ten-lined June beetle or Polyphylla decimlineata, inhabits the Rocky Mountain states of the Western U.S. The Latin term decimlineata means "ten-lined" while crinita refers to the "long-haired" character of the coastal species.

Long-haired June beetle wings

Long-haired June beetle underside

Long-haired June beetle male

Long-haired June beetle female

Long-haired June beetle larva

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