These beetles are hard to miss! Green June beetles are not only easy to spot due to their size and bright green and gold coloration but they make a loud noise as they fly around, crashing into plants, animals and people alike. Many people will initially mistake adult beetles flying around for large wasps because they can hover just above the turf canopy (similar to scoliid wasps) or a food source and the sound (see video) can be similar to that of a wasp.
Adults are about an inch long with a green head capsule and body, with gold lining the sides of the wings and sometimes the thorax. Females will lay their eggs in the soil as soon as adult flight begins. The larvae are considered white grubs but they are much larger and not C-shaped like other scarab species. The larvae will come to the turf surface at night to feed and create nickel-sized emergence holes.
In a preventative approach, neonicotinoids work well against the larvae and should be applied now. Curative treatments (Dylox, Sevin) are usually applied around the first week of September in NC.