From the Great Falls Tribune:
The artificial spread of the invasive Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, has the potential to be a considerable risk to Montana’s nursery and agriculture industries.
The Montana Department of Agriculture, the Montana Nursery & Landscape Association and the Association of Montana Turf, Ornamental, & Pest Professionals are working cooperatively to inform nursery businesses and consumers of identification and inspection procedures to prevent outbreaks.
“The Japanese beetle, first detected in Montana in 2002, is a highly destructive invasive plant pest.
Inspections this spring have already identified live Japanese beetle grubs, which feed on grass roots before becoming adults, then attack more than 500 species of plants, including a wide variety of trees, shrubs, grasses, nursery plants, and vegetable and field crops,” explained Beth Eiring, quarantine and nursery specialist for the department of agriculture.
Consistent detections of the Japanese beetle through trapping and monitoring prompted the establishment of a state quarantine area in Yellowstone County in 2008.
The department continues to monitor and inspect nursery stock from states with known Japanese beetle infestation. After a significant increase in the number of beetles brought into the state through regulated nursery stock importation, the department re-instated the exterior Japanese beetle quarantine in 2013.
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