Viburnum leaf beetle: what the extension services record
What The Morton Arboretum, the University of Florida IFAS and University of Maryland Extension say about viburnum leaf beetle: the viburnum hosts and how they rank, the egg-laying sites on twigs, the larval and adult feeding, and where the sources place the beetle.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page describes what the named sources say. It is not a diagnosis of any plant and does not say what should be done with one. The beetle attacks viburnum shrubs and small trees, not the larger shade trees that most pages in this group cover. None of the three pages read lists it as regulated or notifiable. Each section names its source, all read on October 9, 2026. The beetle has a row in insect pests of trees, which compares it with the other pests listed there.
Names and origin
All three sources give the scientific name Pyrrhalta viburni. The University of Florida IFAS publication (Gyeltshen and Hodges, revised July 2020) says the beetle comes from Europe and Asia, turned up in Ontario in 1947, was noticed breeding in the Ottawa and Hull region in 1978, and was discovered later in Maine in 1994 and New York State in 1996. University of Maryland Extension calls it an unintentionally introduced pest and says it was first found in upstate New York in 1996. The Morton Arboretum says it has been known in some eastern states since the early 1990s.
Where the sources place it
| Source | Places named |
|---|---|
| University of Maryland Extension (updated October 17, 2024) | Maryland (reported minimally in Garrett, Alleghany, Washington, Frederick, Baltimore and Harford counties), New York, Maine, northern Pennsylvania, Vermont, parts of Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, the Canadian Maritime provinces, Ontario and British Columbia. |
| University of Florida IFAS (EENY366) | Eastern Canada and the northeastern United States (parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio), plus Washington. It says the southward spread may be limited by mild winters, because the eggs need a long chilling period of approximately five months. |
| The Morton Arboretum | Some eastern states since the early 1990s; a few possible sightings in 2013 and 2014 and regular reports across the Chicago region in 2015. |
Hosts and how they rank
The Arboretum and the Florida publication both say the beetle feeds on viburnums, the Florida text adding almost exclusively. The Arboretum sorts common species into four groups. Highly susceptible and generally destroyed in the first two to three years: arrowwood, possum-haw (smooth witherod), European cranberry-bush and American cranberry-bush viburnum. Susceptible and eventually destroyed, though not heavily fed on until the most susceptible are gone: mapleleaf, wayfaringtree, rusty blackhaw and Sargent viburnum. Moderately susceptible, usually not destroyed: among others Burkwood, witherod, linden, nannyberry and blackhaw viburnum. Resistant, with little or no feeding damage: Koreanspice, Judd, doublefile, leatherleaf and Siebold viburnum. Florida reports a strong preference for arrowwood, European cranberry bush and Rafinesque viburnum, and lists a citizen-science grouping in which Burkwood and Koreanspice viburnum are resistant. Maryland names some of the same resistant species and adds dawn, David and tea viburnum. The Arboretum adds that most species in every group show more damage when grown in shade.
Life cycle as the sources state it
The Arboretum and the Florida publication describe one generation a year with the eggs overwintering in twigs; Maryland says females lay eggs in cavities on twigs in late summer and fall. Florida says females lay from late June to October or until the first killing frost, up to 500 eggs in a lifetime, in deep pinhead-sized cavities in a straight row on the underside of terminal twigs, five to eight eggs to a cavity, closed with a cap of excrement and chewed bark that Florida says also protects the egg and absorbs water to keep it humid. It gives 8 to 10 weeks from egg hatch to adult. The Arboretum gives three to eight eggs a cavity, egg-laying from late summer into autumn, dark caps that stand out against the bark, and the eggs themselves not visible.
Larvae hatch around May when leaf buds open by Florida's account, early May by Maryland's and around mid-May in most years by the Arboretum's. The Arboretum says the larvae skeletonize leaves, go through three instars and from early to mid-June crawl down the stems to pupate in the soil; Florida gives 10 to 11 mm for the mature larva and a pupal stage of about 10 days. Adults emerge in July by Florida's account; Maryland says they are present through September and the Arboretum says from early July until frost. The Arboretum describes adults as brown, about one-quarter inch long and covered in fine golden hairs, Florida gives 4.5 to 6.5 mm with dense golden-grey hair, and says the beetle resembles the elm leaf beetle apart from minor differences in size and colour.
Damage as the sources describe it
The Arboretum says larvae begin feeding before the leaves are fully expanded, shrubs may try to grow a second set of leaves while larvae pupate, and adults feed from mid-summer until frost, so damage runs over most of the growing season and heavy feeding for two to three years can kill a viburnum. Maryland says larvae feed together at first, skeletonizing the underside of leaves, high populations may completely defoliate the shrub, and adult feeding appears as oblong holes in the leaves.
Natural enemies and status
The Arboretum names green lacewings, certain lady beetles and soldier beetles as predators of the larvae and says they are not usually enough to count as management. Maryland names the spined soldier bug and lady beetles and says research is underway on more biological options. No page names a quarantine or a report line; the Florida publication describes a New York citizen-science project that monitored the beetle's spread. This page gives no treatment steps, product names, rates or timings. For who may apply pesticides see pesticide licences.