Biocontrol Field Day To Target Japanese Beetles

Kalamazoo, Mich.- There is hope for the homeowners, gardeners and farmers who are being plagued by Japanese beetle infestations--and it comes in the form of a microscopic organism.

A single-celled protozoan pathogen that kills the beetles is flourishing in the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek areas. Michigan State University (MSU) scientists are hoping that interested humans can help spread the pathogen—which only infects Japanese beetles—to more parts of the state by hosting a Japanese beetle biocontrol field day Oct. 21, at Binder Park Golf Course in Battle Creek.

MSU Extension specialist Dave Smitley will lead a dig for infected Japanese beetle grubs beginning at 10 a.m. in the parking lot of the old club house. Each participant should bring a flat shovel or sod cutter, thin gloves and a plastic bucket. Instructions will be provided on how to transport and spread grubs in new locations.

Infected grubs begin to affect an established Japanese beetle population almost immediately, but it takes a few hundred grubs five years to infect an area the size of a football field, Smitley said. When infected grubs are introduced into new areas, they spread the pathogen to uninfected grubs in the new population.

The pathogen causes adult beetles to lay only 50 percent of the number of eggs they would without exposure to the pathogen. Infected grubs often fail to survive the winter, Smitley said.

A research paper written in 1990 brought Smitley’s attention to pathogens in Connecticut. Upon further research, it was decided to spread the pathogen in Michigan.

“In 1999, we introduced infected grubs from Connecticut to four Michigan locations,” Smitley said. “Now the pathogen is established and taken off.”

Battle Creek and Kalamazoo are the only places in Michigan where the pathogen seems to be infecting a high proportion of grubs and causing some population reduction, Smitley said.

There is no cost to attend the field day, and pre-registration is not necessary. For more information, contact your Kalamazoo County MSU Extension county office or visit www.msue.msu.edu.

For more information about MSU Extension Horticulture programs, call Jeanne Himmelein, District Horticulture Educator at the Kalamazoo County MSU Extension office, (269) 384-8010, or visit our web site at www.kalcounty.com/msue

Japanese Beetle Biocontrol Field Day

Saturday, October 21, 2006
Binder Park Golf Course in Battle Creek

To facilitate the spread of Japanese beetle pathogens throughout Michigan

Anyone interested in digging-up infected grubs to take back to their part of the state

Saturday, October 21, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Meet in parking lot of the old club house at Binder Park Golf Course

We will walk about a 1/4 mile to an area between 2 fairways to collect infected grubs

A flat shovel or sod-cutter, thin gloves, a plastic bucket for each person, and your sense of humor (I mean, who is really going to believe what you are doing?)

Please let others know about this biocontrol field day. At this time, only the Battle Creek-Kalamazoo area has the most important pathogens. The rest of Michigan, and neighboring states need to be seeded with infected grubs. Only seed infected grubs into areas with active Japanese beetle infestations (the pathogens can only be introduced where an active population will support them). Also, Japanese beetle cannot be transported to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or to states or portions of states that are not yet infested. These are live grubs and could start a new infestation.

Binder Park Golf Course is 3 miles directly south of Battle Creek, Michigan. Exit I-94 at M-66. Go south on M-66 about 2.5 miles to B Dr. South. Go east on B Dr. South about 1 mile to 61/2 mile road. Immediately after crossing 61/2 mile and the creek, watch for an entrance to a parking lot on your left (north side). This is where the old club house is located. We will gather there for instructions at 10 AM, and walk to collect grubs shortly after that. If you pass the parking lot entrance and continue another 1/4 mile east on B Dr. South, you will come to the new club house on your left.

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MSU Extension is an Affirmative-Action Equal-Opportunity Institution. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status.

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