Discover 10 Types of Green Beetles

Written by Kyle Glatz
Updated: July 14, 2023
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10 Types of Green Beetles
The iridescence on beetles serves to scare away predators.

Beetles are insects from the order Coleoptera. Over 350,000 species of these creatures have been identified and described throughout the world. Many more could be discovered in the future. With more species than any other group of organisms, beetles demonstrate significant variations in physical attributes, including color. Discover 10 different green beetles that live around the world and see how big they grow on average, where they can be found, and more!

1. Glorious Scarab Beetle

Beautiful Green Animals - Glorious Scarab

A group of the metallic glorious scarab (Chrysina gloriosa) beetles on a lush yellow flower covered with dew.

©GypsyPictureShow/Shutterstock.com

The glorious scarab beetle lives up to its name with its medium-sized body and interesting coloration. This beetle grows between 0.75 inches and 1 inch long, and it appears in many different colors. These insects can be green, brown, red, and more. These beetles don’t have a solid color on their wings, though. Instead, they have stripes of black and one of the aforementioned colors.

In North America, they’re found in Mexico and the states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The glorious scarab beetle is certainly one of the most beautiful types of green beetles in the U.S.

2. Pale Green Weevil

Animal, Animal Wildlife, Blade, Botany, Color Image

These tiny cuties are considered to be pests because they eat the leaves of fruit trees.

©iStock.com/Wirestock

The pale green weevil is a small beetle that is mostly found in part of South Asia along with the eastern portions of North America. However, they’ve also been spotted in Oregon in the U.S. as well. These beetles only grow about a quarter of an inch in total length.

The top of their bodies, including their top wings, are bright green. Their thoraxes and legs are often brown. These beetles are considered pests since they eat the leaves of many fruit-bearing trees. That being said, they’re not as harmful as other types of leaf-easting beetles.

3. Japanese Beetle

Japanese beetle on wet leaf

Originally from Japan, the Japanese beetle was spotted in the United States in 1916.

©iStock.com/Justin Tahai

The Japanese beetle is native to Asia, but it made its way to Canada, the United States, and more. The insects have brown outer wings. Yet, they have green thoraxes, heads, and parts of their legs. Their legs and abdomens feature hair, but their elytra, thoraxes, and heads are shiny.

While beautiful, these beetles are devastating pests that can cause significant damage to plants. They are particularly harmful to roses, soybeans, cherries, and other plants. Farmers and home gardeners use many methods to reduce the impact of these beetles.

4. Figeater Beetle

figeater beetle

The figeater beetle is a type of scarab beetle native to North America.

©Virginie Merckaert/Shutterstock.com

The figeater beetle, Cotinis mutabilis, goes by many other names including the green fruit beetle or simply the fig beetle. They’re members of the scarab family that grow about 1.2 inches in total length. Their elytra, thoraxes, and heads are all iridescent green, and their underside often features a coppery color.

These beetles are native to the Southwest, and they’re often found in places where they can eat a variety of plants. These pests can eat figs along with other ripe fruits like grapes and berries. Fortunately, the beetles don’t do as much damage to plants as Japanese beetles, but many gardeners aim to remove them nonetheless.

5. Emerald Ash Borer

emerald ash borer

The emerald ash borer is an incredibly destructive beetle species.

©Herman Wong HM/Shutterstock.com

The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, is a very destructive type of beetle. Originating in Asia, these beetles were first identified in the U.S. in 2002, but they may have arrived in the 1980s. Their name is often shortened to EAB.

These beetles are somewhat small, measuring just about half an inch in total length. As the species name suggests, these beetles are emerald green and shimmery when looked at from above. They have a brown-green coloration on their abdomens.

EABs are certainly the most harmful types of green beetles because they bore into the wood of ash trees as larvae. They consume the tree’s tissue, causing great damage to the tree. Also, woodpeckers will often strip the bark of the trees that they’ve infested. An estimated 100 million trees have fallen victim to EAB attacks, and many more will die as the insects spread.                                                                                                                              

6. Green June Beetle

Green June beetle isolated

Green June beetle on a twig.

©Sudhakar Bisen/Shutterstock.com

The green June beetle has a distinct look. They have metallic, emerald-colored elytra with a golden brown border along the wings and thorax. These shiny insects grow about 1.2 inches long at their maximum. They’re found throughout many parts of Canada and the United States, including just about every state east of Texas.

As their name implies, they appear in the late spring and early summer. These critters can damage grass and some plants, but they’re not as big a danger as EABs.

7. Dogbane Leaf Beetle

Types of beetles - Leaf beetle

Dogbane Beetles feed on toxic dogbane leaves – bright iridescence on the beetles warns predators against attack.

©Gerry Bishop/Shutterstock.com

The dogbane leaf beetle is another metallic, shiny beetle. This beetle has iridescent green elytra, thorax, head, and legs. Their elytra can contain other colors like red or copper too. The dogbane leaf beetle doesn’t grow very large, only about 0.3 to 0.5 inches long at their maximum.  

These critters eat the plant dogbane, one of many members of the Apocynum genus that are dangerous to humans and many other animals.  

8. Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle

tiger beetle on yellow flower

The unique colors of the

tiger

beetle are created by pigments in the exoskeleton and then refracted by its unique surface.

©iStock.com/Christiane Godin

The six-spotted tiger beetle is known for its long legs and antennae as well as for having very large eyes relative to its body size. This type of green beetle has an emerald green color on its elytra, thoraxes, heads, and portions of its legs. The beetle also has three white spots on each of its wings in most cases.

These beetles have white hairs protruding from the upper part of their legs as well. Although green is a very common color in this species, it can also appear bluish or purple.  

9. Fiery Searcher Caterpillar Hunter

Types of beetles - Fiery Searcher

A fiery searcher eating a

tiger moth

at a porch light.

©Kevin Jarrell/Shutterstock.com

Calosoma scrutator is known as the fiery searcher caterpillar hunter. Yet, the beetle’s name makes it sound much cooler than it is, though.

These large beetles grow between 1 and 1.4 inches long, and they can be found throughout most of the eastern parts of North America along with Mexico and a few other places.

These critters have green elytra, thoraxes that can range in colors with a gold border, and a variety of other colors potentially present. They have a metallic, shiny look to them. As their name implies, they specialize in hunting down and eating caterpillars. That makes them somewhat helpful to have around one’s home and garden.

10. Jewell Weevil

Eurhinus magnificus

The tiny jewel weevil is less than a quarter inch in length.

©Sandra H Statner / CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons – License

The jewel weevil, Eurhinus magnificus, is a gorgeous beetle that originated from Central America and made its way to Florida in the early 2000s. Many other creatures are also called jewel weevils or jewel beetles.

These beetles are very small, measuring less than a quarter inch in length. However, they are shiny insects, metallic-looking insects with green and many other colors on their bodies. They’re garden pests that eat vine plants, but the extent of their potential for destruction is not currently known.

Many types of green beetles live throughout the world. While this list has covered ten of them, tens of thousands of others exist. It’s impossible to categorize all beetles as being beneficial or harmful to gardens and plants. As a result, it’s always good to know what types of harmful beetles have been identified in one’s area.

Summary of 10 Types of Green Beetles

Green BeetleDiet
1Glorious Scarab BeetleThey prefer juniper leaves at high elevations
2Pale Green WeevilLeaves of fruit trees
3Japanese BeetleRoses, soybeans, cherry trees, crape myrtles, and more
4Figeater BeetleFigs, grapes, berries, and more
5Emerald Ash BorerAsh trees
6Green June BeetleGrass and other plants
7Dogbane Leaf BeetleDogbane leaves
8Six-Spotted Tiger BeetleInsects and arthropods
9Fiery Searcher Caterpillar HunterCaterpillars, moths, and other insects
10Jewell WeevilPrincess (Possum) grape vines

The photo featured at the top of this post is © InsectWorld/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Kyle Glatz is a writer at A-Z-Animals where his primary focus is on geography and mammals. Kyle has been writing for researching and writing about animals and numerous other topics for 10 years, and he holds a Bachelor's Degree in English and Education from Rowan University. A resident of New Jersey, Kyle enjoys reading, writing, and playing video games.

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