Shiny as emeralds and completely harmless to humans and pets, it would be easy to dismiss Japanese beetles as just another cute Japanese export. But these little devils are incredibly destructive to plants of all sorts, here devastating a huge field of Iceland poppies in a Tokyo park. Japanese Beetles snuck into North America in the early 20th century and have been a bane to farmers and nurserymen ever since. In Japan, the beetles have a lot of natural predators including several species of birds and large wasps, but have thrived in North America where their predators are few. So if you visit Japan, don’t take one home as a pet!