Japanese Beetle Found in ND

| 8/8/2012

A plant pest has been detected in North Dakota for the second time in 11 years. The Japanese beetle, first discovered in the United States in 1916 is found in nearly every state east of the Mississippi River and in Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana.

"A North Dakota Department of Agriculture plant protection specialist positively identified a Japanese beetle submitted to the NDSU-Extension`s Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab from Grand Forks," said Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. "The specialist subsequently found more specimens in traps in West Fargo."

Goehring added that the beetle is mainly a pest of trees, ornamental plants and turf grass. It can also be harmful to soybeans and corn.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the beetles are a half-inch-long, and metallic green with bronze wing covers. Adults begin to emerge in mid-June through September.

Trapping for the beetles has been ongoing since 1960. The first one found in ND was in Burleigh County in 2001.

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