cupreus chafer
Family: Scarabaeidae Subfamily: Rutelinae Genus: Anomala Species: Anomala cuprea (Hope, 1839)
none available
Total body length 17.0–26.0 mm (0.67–1.02 in). Body shape ovate. Color dark grey-green or brown-green, shining; rarely with red or green sheen. Front tibia with two external teeth; apical tooth long and decurved in both sexes; middle tooth small in female, lacking or very feeble in male. Front, inner claw bifurcate; strongly sinuate in male, simple in female. Hind tibia with inner margin simple, not greatly dilated at the middle.
Undescribed in English. For Anomala (Ritcher, 1966): Grub C-shaped, not hump-backed, cylindrical, whitish. Lacinia of maxilla with 2 apical unci equal in size. Maxillary stridulatory area with 4–7 sharp, recurved teeth. Epipharynx with 2–4 prominent heli. Final antennal segment with single dorsal sensory spot. Spiracles on abdominal segments 7 and 8 similar in size and conspicuously larger than spiracles on abdominal segments 1–6. Anal slit transverse, arcuate; bordered by several irregular rows of stout setae. Lower anal lip bearing patch of 13 hamate setae.
Japan. This scarab is known from the four major islands of Japan: Kysushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido (Kobayashi and Matsumoto, 2011).
This species' hosts are poorly described in English language publications. Adults are folivores and are active at night (Fujiyama et al., 1979). Recorded larval hosts include sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) (Mitsuhashi et al., 2014), beans (Bhuiyan and Nishigaki, 1996), turf grass (Suzuki et al., 1994), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) (Suzuki et al., 1994), and peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) (Kato et al., 1980).
(Fujiyama et al., 1979): Adults are active June through September (Kobayashi and Matsumoto, 2011), with a single generation per year. Eggs are laid in August and September with larvae emerging shortly thereafter. Larvae require one or two years to develop, depending on soil temperature and larval densities. Larvae overwinter as first or second instars, but first instars suffer high winter mortality, despite burrowing deep into soil. Interestingly, some larvae that survive the winter estivate through the summer and emerge as adults two years after the egg stage. Larvae feed on the roots of a number of plant species, while adults are nocturnal folivores.
Significant. In Japan, larvae of this scarab are important insect pests (Bhuiyan and Nishigaki, 1996), feeding on the roots of a number of important agricultural and horticultural plant species.
Recorded, not established. This species has been found on Oahu in quarantine, when a single dead specimen was found on a plane flying from Japan to Honolulu in 1953 (Maehler, 1953).
Not established or recorded. This species has not been recorded from Guam.
This species is attracted to lights at night, and it is likely that it would be attracted to well-lit ports and airports. Indeed, in 1967-68, a specimen was intercepted aboard an aircraft flying to California from Japan (USDA, 1969). Further, it is possible that larvae or eggs could be transported in shipments of commercial turf.
Anomala cuprea is one of five Anomala species recorded from Hawaii and Guam along with Anomala orientalis, Anomala sulcatula, Anomala viridana, and Anomala albopilosa. It is separated from the other species by examination of the bifurcate male front claw (strongly sinuous in A. cuprea versus weakly sinuous in A. albopilosa and curved but non-sinuous in A. orientalis and A. sulcatula), male hind tibia (A. cuprea not greatly dilated at the middle on the inner margin versus inner margin greatly dilated at the middle in A. sulcatula), and total body length (A. cuprea is 17.0–26.0 mm [0.67–1.02 in] versus size less than 13.0 mm [0.51 in] in A. orientalis).
Euchlora cuprea Hope
In Hawaii, this species represents a new invasive species. Prevent the spread of this species by reporting your observation at our iNaturalist project.
