As Japanese beetles are spreading throughout Iowa and populations are increasing, more and more gardeners are dealing with these very hungry garden pests. Japanese beetle adults feed on a wide variety of plants. Their feeding damage is usually easy to distinguish from other leaf feeding insects because they do not eat the veins, leaving lacy-looking leaves.
Least Favored By Japanese Beetles | Most Favored by Japanese beetles |
Arbovitae
Boxelder
Boxwood
Clematis
Dogwood*
Euonymus sp. (burning bush, etc.)
Forsythia
Hemlock
Hickory
Holly
Juniper
Lilac
Magnolia
Mulberry
Northern red oak
Pine**
Red and silver maples
Redbud
Spruce***
Sweet gum
Tulip poplar (tuliptree)
Yew
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American and English elm
Birch
Black walnut
Elm
Grape
Hawthorn
Hollyhock
Horse-chestnut
Japanese* and Norway maple
Larch
Linden
London planetree
Malus spp. (crabapple, apple etc.)
Mountain ash*
Pin oak*
Prunus spp. (flowering cherry, etc.)
Pussy willow
Rose
Raspberry
Virginia creeper
Willow
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* May not be hardy or perform well throughout Iowa.
** Scots and Austrian Pine are not recommended because of disease problems.
Adult Japanese beetle. Photo by Michele Olson.
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