Japanese beetles discovered at highway service stations on the A1 and A2
Published: Friday, Sep 20th 2024, 11:30
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Several Japanese beetles were found at rest stops on the A1 highway in the canton of Solothurn and on the A2 highway in the canton of Lucerne this summer. The insects are likely to have entered Switzerland as "stowaways" with transit traffic.
Five Japanese beetles were found in traps set up to monitor the pest at the Gunzgen Süd service area on the A1, as reported by the canton of Solothurn on Friday. A further five specimens were caught at rest areas along the A2 in the canton of Lucerne, as reported by the canton of Lucerne on the same day.
The locations where the beetles were found indicate that they traveled with people or goods from the south, according to a statement from the canton of Lucerne. The sites in the two cantons are relatively close to each other.
According to the canton of Solothurn, four male specimens of the Japanese beetle were found in attractant traps at the Gunzgen Süd highway service station in mid-August. The cantonal plant protection service then stepped up trap monitoring, but only found one more beetle.
Threadworms exposed
As the catches were made at the end of the adult beetles' flight period, the canton of Solothurn does not expect any further finds. However, it released microscopically small threadworms. These are intended to prevent the larvae of the beetle from surviving in the soil.
The canton of Lucerne also intensified monitoring with traps after the five beetles were found. However, no further Japanese beetles or damage caused by them were found around the affected sites, it announced. In contrast to Kloten ZH or Basel, there should therefore be no population in the canton of Lucerne.
The Japanese beetle can cause major damage to its more than 400 host plants. In addition to agricultural crops such as maize, fruit trees, berries and vines, it also attacks trees, ornamental plants and lawns. The damage potential in Switzerland is estimated at several hundred million francs per year.
©Keystone/SDA
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