Popillia japonica Shining Leaf Chafers Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae Rutelinae

Popillia japonica mm 5-7 Shining Leaf Chafers Scarab Beetle Scarabaeidae Rutelinae.
Common name: The Japanese Beetle.
Syn. Popillia plicatipennis.

Popillia japonica (Newman, 1841) is a Coleopter belonging to the Scarabaeidae family, subfamily Rutelinae, native to Japan. It is a species that infests and destroys turf, wild, fruit and ornamental plants and whose diffusion is expanding.
Outside Japan Popillia japonica is widespread in north-western Italy, southern Switzerland, China, Russia, the Azores, Canada and the United States. In Japan, where the species' natural enemies keep its populations in check, the Japanese beetle is not responsible for serious infestations. In the United States it is thought to have been introduced through larvae contained in the bulbs of iris plants. An attempt was made to eradicate this species, but the infestation was now so advanced as to make eradication impossible with the techniques available at the time; furthermore there were not sufficient funds to act with due effectiveness. By 1932 the Japanese beetle had already spread westward to many other American states. In 1967, 19 states had large or severe infestations and another 4 had limited or isolated infestations. The favorable climate, the wide availability of host plants, the lack of natural enemies and the expansion of lawn areas, which constitute the ideal reproduction environment for this species, have played an important role in the spread of the Japanese beetle in United States, which is expected to soon colonize all states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.
It was found for the first time in continental Europe in the summer of 2014 in Italy near the Ticino river on both banks (in Lombardy and Piedmont), and the infested area has progressively expanded. In 2017 it was found in Italian Switzerland.