Nebraska Department of Agriculture

Animal & Plant Health Protection
Plant Health

Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture has been surveying for Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) in Nebraska since 1981. Japanese beetle pheromone traps are placed at likely points of introduction with emphasis on airports, rail yards, sod farms, rest stops, and nurseries.

The US Domestic Japanese Beetle Harmonization Plan was adopted August 19, 1998. The American Nursery and Landscape Association, the National Plant Board, and the USDA worked together to harmonize the Japanese beetle nursery stock certification requirements to minimize pest risk and to facilitate the orderly marketing of nursery stock. In this plan, Nebraska is listed as a Category 2 state. Nursery stock shipments from infested areas into all Nebraska counties require a nursery certificate with a statement that the shipment is in compliance with one of the approved methods in the harmonization plan. The approved methods are detailed in Appendix 2 of the plan.

In 2011, a total of 291 Japanese beetle traps were set in 39 counties, including traps set at airports, state parks, special quarantine compliance areas and nursery growers and dealers. Growers and nursery dealers that are high-risk sites because they import balled and burlapped nursery stock were individually trapped. A total of 17,990 beetles were trapped statewide, with 16 counties having positive traps.

Positive traps were found in the following counties: Adams, Buffalo, Cass, Dakota, Douglas, Gage, Hall, Lancaster, Lincoln, Red Willow, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Thayer, Washington and York.

Counties previously infested with Japanese beetle included Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Hamilton, Lancaster, Saline, and Sarpy counties. Based on the 2011 trapping survey, Saunders and Washington are now considered infested with Japanese beetle, also.

Soil sampling for Japanese beetle grubs was conducted March through May, 2011, at select firms in known infested counties, where Japanese beetle (JB) populations had previously been confirmed via trapping. Firms were selected based on several factors, including level of infestation, nursery production methods, and desire to ship out-of-state. A total of 481 soil samples were collected over 354 acres, for 14 firms in seven counties. No Japanese beetle grubs were found.

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