Squamulata canegrub

Adults of squamulata canegrub (Photo 4) are larger, about 22-32 mm long, dark-coloured with oval white scales which are prominent along the sides and underneath the abdomen and thorax. Squamulata canegrubs have a raster with two straight single rows of 28-40 short, thick hairs (Photo 5). The rows diverge slightly at the front end.

Damage
specie feed on the roots of the sugarcane plant, resulting in reduced growth, lodging, stool tipping and, potentially, stool death. Crop symptoms coincide with the main feeding periods of the grub species. Feeding by squamulata canegrub and 1-year variants of grata canegrub usually results in visual crop damage during the March to May period in semi-mature or mature cane, or gaps in ratoons after harvest. Symptoms of 2-year variants of grata canegrub are usually apparent in young ratoons during early summer.