- The rose chafer is a pest of ornamental shrubs.
- It prefers to feed on rose and peony flowers but also attacks apple, cherry, elm, wisteria, Virginia creeper, dahlia, foxglove, and other plants.
- Adult beetles are about 3/8" long. Larvae are white grubs and are about 3/4" long when grown.
- The adult beetles eat flowers and skeletonize the leaves of ornamental plants.
- The grubs feed on roots of grasses, weeds, and ornamentals in sandy areas.
- The adults feed in the daytime and may be found on skeletonized foliage and flowers of preferred host plants in sandy areas from late May through early June (in Maryland).
- In light infestations, pick off and destroy adult beetles.
- Heavy infestations may require the application of a residual insecticide to protect flowers and foliage of desirable plants. This, however, is a rare occurrence.
