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Japanese Beetles mating
Popillia japonica
40.8401, -75.6355
Field Notes
Description:
Order: Coleoptera. Family: Scarabaeidae. Length: .60 inches (15 mm). Width: .40 inches (10 mm). Iridescent cooper-colored elytra and green thorax. Abdomen is black and white stripes. Explanation of first photo: 1) my close photography disturbed the mating and ejaculation occurs outside of female. 2) Japanese beetle penis has a dual function; to insert sperm into a fertile female or to scoop out previous beetle sperm before injecting its own. See notes for other possible technical explanation. Serious pest to more than 200 plants.
Habitat:
Meadows, lawns.
Notes:
"I´d rather say it´s not the sperm, but the everted endophallus and flagellum. The male is pulling out the aedeagus and the flagellum is still attached to the abdomen of the female. You can see a thin brown layer above the endophallus, which I believe are sclerotised parts." (This was a comment at my Entomology group on FB by an amateur. No expert explanation yet.)
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