Milford chronicle., 1923-08-17
japanese Beetle Is
On1nivOrOus Feeder
Much Apprehension Felt Among Del
aware Farmers As Pests Near
State Line.

Ravages of the Japanese beetle
which is just now rousing a great deal
of apprehension throughout New Jer-
sey, Eastern Pennsylvania and among
Delaware farmers, have led to a
number of inquiries from readers OF
The Chronicle as to just what this
beetle is like, and what is the char
acter of its depredations.
The beetle is an insect native to
Japan and was introduced into this
county, about 1916 presumably in the
grub state, in the soil around some
nursery stock imported into Burling-
ton county, New Jersey, where it was
first discovered in this country Com
paratively little is known here of the
minute details of it's life history, hab-
its, but it causes great injury to vege-
tables, fruit, shade and forest trees,
not only destroying the foliage, but
burrowing into the earth, also de-
stroys the roots of plants and shrub
berry. The beetle feeds freely and
vigorously on the foliage of crops and
trees, and unless soon checked will
become a dangerous pest.
Pests Multiply Rapidly
In the middle of August, 1916, only
a dozen beetles were collected, but
during the summer of 1920, in a small
area near the point where the original
discovery was made, more than 1000
quarts of the pests were collected.
The infested portions of the United
States, just now, include portions of
Burlington, Camden and Gloucester
counties, and nearby, in New Jersey,
and portions of Philadelphia, and
Bucks counties, in Pennsylvania. None
of the beetles have been discovered in
Chester county, yet several of the
townships in the eastern end are I'M
der quarantine, SO that hay, vegetables
and etc., have to be inspected and a
permit granted for removal from one
place to another. 1t is said that the
beetle was carried from some sections
of New Jersey into Pennsylvania by
motorists who gathered wild flowers,
or branches of trees from along the
roadside which contained specimens
of the beetle.
1t is said that beetles in limited
numbers have been found and killed in
automobiles that had been in Jersey
districts infested by the beetles. The
beetle is a strong fiier and is capable
o fdispersing itself over considerable
distance, yet this distribution by an
artificial means is the one that quar-
antine is expected to lesson. The bee
tie can be carried in the larval stage
in the soil around nursery stock, and |
on farm produce, like corn, cabbage, |
lettuce, etc. that afford satisfactory
hiding places for the insect.
An OmniVOrOus Feeder
The beetle is omnivorous and feeds |
on small fruits -grapevines, black
berry bushes, apple and cherry trees,
roses and all kinds of garden flowers,
beans, corn, shade trees-linden, oak,
birch, elm, horse chestnut, willow. It
also feeds on the fruit of the apple
Ind peach trees.
Plants are not defoliated, but the
caves are skeletonized and then turn
brown and drop off; in the flowers the
PETALS are eaten and the blossoms rid
He'd. There are more than 200 differ
mt species of plants that are attack
ID by the Japenese beetle, including
erns, Gala, hOllyhocks, alfalfa, clov-
r, asparagus, sweet potato, ounces,
lums, etc., in addition to other fruits
nd vegetables previously mentioned.
t has occasioned serious injury to
asture lands, lawns and golf greens.
The common spraying materials are
ot effective destroying agents, but the
tarlings and some other birds feed
pom this insect.
Recently there have been introduced
Ito this country many enemies of the
eetle in the nature of parasites that
ave been liberated in the vicinity Of
iverton. These parasites deposit an
gg that produces a grub that bur-
Ows into the beetle and kills it.