Pests Individual Japanese beetles discovered along the A2 in the canton of Lucerne

The voracious Japanese beetle has not yet spread extensively in the canton of Lucerne. However, after the first specimens were caught along the A2 highway in the summer, the canton is stepping up monitoring.

The cantonal plant protection service provided information on the situation regarding the Japanese beetle in Lucerne on Friday. The insect, which is not native to Switzerland and has no natural enemies, can cause major damage to crops, forest trees and ornamental plants both as a larva and as a beetle.

The canton of Lucerne has set up traps for monitoring purposes. According to the cantonal plant protection service, five Japanese beetles have been caught at rest areas and rest stops along the highway. They are believed to have entered the canton of Lucerne through transit traffic.

The canton set up further traps following the findings. Despite intensive monitoring, no further Japanese beetles or damage caused by them were found around the affected locations, the press release stated. In contrast to Kloten ZH or Basel, there should therefore be no population in the canton of Lucerne.

The canton of Lucerne intends to further expand its monitoring of the Japanese beetle in 2025. However, it is also calling on the public to freeze any beetles found and report the discovery to the cantonal plant protection service.

SDA