Japanese Beetle Host Plant Preferences
One way to limit the impact of adult Japanese beetle defoliation may be to select plants that the Japanese beetles tend to avoid. The following list of the Japanese beetle's most and least-favored woody plants may be useful to people designing new landscapes in areas infested by this beetle.
| Most Favored by Japanese Beetle | Least Favored by Japanese Beetle |
| Birch, gray | Ash, white, green |
|
Elm |
Boxelder |
| Grape | Boxwood |
| Hollyhock |
Conifers (arborvitae, spruce, pine, fir, yew, juniper) |
| Horse Chestnut |
Dogwood |
| Linden, American (suscetibiity varies with variety) |
Euonymus |
|
Lombardy poplar |
Hickory, shagbark |
| London planetree |
Holly |
|
Malus spp. (apple crabapple, etc.) Susceptibility of crabapples varies with variety |
Lilac |
|
Maple, Norway, Japanese |
Magnolia |
| Mountain ash |
Maple, red, silver |
|
Prunus spp. (flowering cherry, etc.) |
Mulberry |
|
Rose |
Oak, white, red, scarlet, black |
|
Sassafras |
Persimmon |
|
Walnut, black |
Poplar, white |
| Weeds (wild grape, multiflora rose, smartweed, poison ivy) |
Sweet gum |
| Yellow poplar (tuliptree) |
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