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Identification:
Adult billbugs are weevils 1/5 to 3/4 inch long. The reddish-brown to black adults have a pair of jaws at the tip of a long snout or "bill." The young are white, legless grubs about 3/8 inch in length with the rear end wider than the head.
Life Cycle and Diagnosis:
Adults feed above ground and deposit eggs in the stems of host grasses. Hatching larvae feed within the stems; larger larvae feed on the crown; mature larvae feed on the roots of the turf. Zoysiagrass and bermudagrass are most often injured, but, feeding may occur on many grasses. In heavy infestations, roots of grass are destroyed and the turf killed in irregular patches. Damage from billbugs differs from white grub or mole cricket injured turf as infested soil usually stays firm.
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