Because the iridescent green Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica, lacks natural predators in Europe and feeds on more than 300 types of plants and trees, the beetle is on the European Union’s priority-pest list.<\/p>\n
It has been a recognized agricultural nuisance in the United States for well over a century, but in Europe, it is a much newer invasive species<\/a>.<\/p>\n Luciano Zoppo Ronzero, a Nebbiolo producer working in Donnas’ terraced vineyards, said the infestation is advancing visibly through the area.<\/p>\n “We’re seeing the popillia steadily advance from terrace to terrace across our historic vineyards,” Ronzero said, per the AP.<\/p>\n Adult beetles cluster while feeding and can hitch rides on trains, cars, and airplanes, allowing them to spread quickly to new places.<\/p>\n Why does it matter?<\/p>\n Even when a plant survives an attack, yields can fall because Japanese beetles eat the pulp of leaves and leave behind a lace-like skeleton. That kind of damage reduces the plant’s ability to photosynthesize.<\/p>\n For vineyard owners, the result can be reduced harvests and more strain on businesses already exposed to weather swings and seasonal uncertainty.<\/p>\n The risk is particularly severe in Donnas, where steep mountainside vineyards supported by centuries-old drystone walls are both culturally important and hard to defend.<\/p>\n Lorenzo Bazzana, head of economic affairs at the Coldiretti agricultural lobby, said the effects can be severe.<\/p>\n “In some areas, the beetle has destroyed the harvest,” Bazzana said, per the AP.<\/p>\n Coldiretti has warned that the pest could endanger agriculture as it moves through the Po River Valley, one of the country’s most important food-producing regions.<\/p>\n The insect is not only a vineyard threat: its larvae, or grubs, feed on roots and can damage grasses, lawns, golf courses, and playing fields.<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n The best chance of eliminating the pest is to target it in its larval stage. Bazzana said going after the grubs offers the strongest hope for eradication. Meanwhile, researchers and authorities are already trying multiple approaches.<\/p>\n Pheromone traps have been used widely, and beetles found near Verona’s Valerio Catullo airport led experts to begin testing a microscopic parasite against the larvae in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n Daniela Lupi, an entomologist at the University of Milan, said the strategy depends largely on how firmly the beetle has taken hold in a particular place.<\/p>\n Italy, Switzerland, and Germany are focused on control and containment, while France and Spain still have populations low enough that eradication remains possible.<\/p>\n In Donnas, growers are using pesticide treatments, but the work is labor-intensive, and the effects do not last long, especially on steep terraced terrain.<\/p>\n For farming communities trying to safeguard both harvests and long-held traditions, the problem is practical as well as economic.<\/p>\n “What scares me is the fact that in the end the grapes don’t ripen,” Ronzero said.<\/p>\n As Lupi put it, “There are no problems for the human population, because they are not so dangerous, but the production is really, really lowered.”<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"Cool](\"https:\/\/www.thecooldown.com\/wp-content\/themes\/tcd\/assets\/images\/divider-icon-earth.svg\"){kind=icon}
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