Japanese beetle

The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is oval and slightly smaller than a 5-cent coin: it is about 8-12 mm long and 5-7 mm wide. Unlike the native beetles (Melolontha melolontha, Mimela junii and Phyllopertha horticola), with which it can be easily confused, the Japanese beetle has five white hairy tufts on each side of the rib and two larger white hairy tufts on the bottom of the back. The head and pronotum (upper part of the thorax) are metallic green or pink, while the elytra are copper-colored. It spreads rapidly between June and September.

It is dangerous because it is very voracious and invasive to vegetation and agriculture. It infests more than 100 types of plants, both cultivated and wild; thus, it attacks crops (grapevine, corn, soybean...), lawns, private gardens, pastures, forests, wild plants, fruit plants (pear, cherry, peach, plum...), including small fruits (raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, currant, giant American blueberry...), and ornamental plants, for example, roses. Harmless to humans, it is, however, responsible for serious economic damage, both in the larval and adult stages. Present in southern Ticino, there is a risk of its further spread.

What to do in case of a sighting

Citizen cooperation is essential to curb the spread of the Japanese beetle by monitoring their own land, gardens and vegetable patches.

Anyone who finds a Japanese beetle is asked to capture it immediately and take a photograph of the insect. The presence of the insect must be reported to the Canton using a reporting form. You are also asked to consult right away the information published on the web page indicated below and to follow the instructions provided. For questions you can write an email to [email protected]

Coleottero giapponese su www.ti.ch