The "reinforced" surveillance on the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) - activated in Trentino after the first "incursion" in the summer of 2023 - has led to the identification of new presences along the motorway axis, at the height of the Nogaredo Est and Paganella Est stations. This was communicated by the provincial phytosanitary service, which carries out monitoring in close collaboration with the Edmund Mach Foundation, pointing out that no outbreaks of this harmful organism, which is subject to compulsory control on the basis of specific EU regulations, have been identified. Adults of the beetle during the summer feed on the leaves, flowers and fruit of more than 300 species, both forest and ornamental and fruit trees, including vines and various prunus species (from cherry to plum to apricot), causing considerable damage. The larvae, on the other hand, develop in the soil at the roots of herbaceous plants, with a preference for turf and wet meadows.
Publication date: 02/09/2024
