Pests Japanese beetles found in Lindau on Lake Constance (D)

A Japanese beetle has been discovered for the first time in an animal trap near Lindau on Lake Constance. According to the State Institute for Agriculture (LfL), the beetle got into an animal trap with attractants on the highway 96.

The pest must be reported and the discovery has now been officially confirmed. Japanese beetles had previously been found in Switzerland and the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

According to the LfL, the beetle can feed on more than 400 host plants. These include vines, berries, lawns, maize and soy, but also landscape trees such as lime and birch as well as ornamental plants such as roses and wisteria.

In order to monitor the occurrence of the beetle in Bavaria, the LfL set up traps in several regions. Checks around the site where the beetle was found near Lindau revealed no further evidence of the presence of the Japanese beetle, such as feeding damage.

Beetles from Switzerland are to be intercepted

The trap was placed on the A96 to intercept beetles traveling from infested areas in Switzerland or Italy as close to the border as possible. The nearest known smaller infestation site in Zurich is more than 100 kilometers as the crow flies from where the beetles were found.

It can be assumed that the Japanese beetle can spread 1.5 to 5 kilometers per year without activity. According to the LfL, the beetle caught is therefore likely to be a single beetle that has traveled with the beetle. However, further traps have been set up around the site where the beetle was found.