{"id":61257,"date":"2026-07-20T14:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/61257\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:51:10","slug":"the-difference-between-june-bugs-and-japanese-beetles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/61257\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between June Bugs And Japanese Beetles"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re into the 3rd week of the month of July,\u00a0but “June\u00a0Bugs”\u00a0that were here in May are still hanging around my backyard.<\/p>\n

Those bugs are here in May. They’re here in June. They’re also still here in the month of July, and will be here in August, too. Illinois gets these little brown-shelled guys every single summer for a whole summer, but we still insist on calling them June bugs.<\/p>\n

Our dog Buddy\u00a0has been on high alert for\u00a0over two months as he watches these seemingly suicidal, brown-colored, shelled bugs buzz flying crazily around while\u00a0they bang into the siding, overhang, and outdoor light multiple times.<\/p>\n

Here in July, more and more of this bug’s family and friends have been showing up (usually with a plus-one),\u00a0so let’s find out\u00a0why what we call June bugs (that\u00a0are here in May) still keep showing up in abundance even when May, June, and July are long gone.<\/p>\n

\"macroPhoto by Walter Sturn<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>macro photography of brown and black beetleIt Turns Out That The Answer To Why Illinois June Bugs\u00a0Will Still Be Hanging Around In\u00a0July\u00a0And August Is Even More Confusing When You Learn That June Bugs Are Also Called…Wait For It…May Bugs<\/p>\n

Well, how convenient. Thanks a lot, entomologists. They’re also called June\u00a0beetles, or May\u00a0beetles. Time to add “July beetles” to the mix.<\/p>\n

To make these things even harder to properly identify, it turns out that there are about 300 species of beetle. The ones that we’re seeing here in Northern Illinois right now are primarily the\u00a0Phyllophaga\u00a0species or “leaf eaters.”<\/p>\n

PlanetNatural.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Phyllophaga species is often mistaken for cockroaches due to their hard, dark, and shiny bodies. This species is nocturnal and identified by its dark brown exterior, six legs, hairy underbelly, and antennae. Adult June bugs can measure up to an inch and are found in the evenings, flying around light sources or plants.<\/p>\n

Another beetle commonly called a June bug or Japanese beetle is the Popillia Japonica species. This species is a slightly smaller June bug variety that measures around half an inch long, has iridescent copper wings and body, and a green head and thorax.<\/p>\n

\"APhoto by Erik Karits<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>A japanese beetle rests on a white flower petal.Bottom Line: May\/June\/July\/August Bugs\/Beetles Can Be A Pain In The Butt<\/p>\n

And they don’t even bite or sting. They’re also harmless to your pets. If your dog should eat one or more, the worst you can expect is some digestive discomfort and possible vomiting.
Here’s more on what you can do if you’ve got a bunch of them around your place:<\/p>\n

Quiz: Do you know your state insect?<\/p>\n

Stacker has used a variety of sources to compile a list of the official state insect(s) of each U.S. state, as well as their unique characteristics. Read on to see if you can guess which insect(s) represent your state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Andrew Vale<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We’re into the 3rd week of the month of July,\u00a0but “June\u00a0Bugs”\u00a0that were here in May are still hanging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8030,8,17,1258,2762],"class_list":["post-61257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-articles","tag-japan","tag-japanese","tag-photos","tag-videos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}