Why such a danger? Because it is polyphagous: it attacks more than 400 plant species, including around 150 present in Belgium: corn, vineyards, strawberries, rose, fruit trees, linden … adults devour the leaves leaving only the ribs, while the larvae attack the roots, compromising the absorption of water. In the United States, where the insect has been installed for a century, the damage has been in several hundred million dollars a year. If he were to settle in Belgium, he could ravage cultures, gardens, and natural ecosystems of the country.
Today, Belgium already brings together climatic conditions favorable to the insect, and global warming could facilitate its installation, “even if it is difficult to determine in what proportions“, nuances AFSCA. According to the agency, the best weapon in the face of this risk remains early detection.”Pheromone traps are deployed in sensitive sites where the introduction is most likely (import and transport sites, public parks, etc.). These devices attract Japanese adult scarabs to traps that are checked throughout the flight period of the beetle, from early June to the end of September.“
An invisible poison infiltrates our plates: “There is no systematic monitoring in Belgium”
Strict protocols in the event of detection
“In the event of capture, a protocol activates: reinforced monitoring, restrictions on the transport of earth and plants, and information of professionals and the public“, Specifies AFSCA. If the presence of the beetle should be confirmed, the European regulation requires the creation of delimited zones and the implementation of strict measures: massive trapping, targeted treatments, prohibitions for moving plant material. And if the eradication turns out to be impossible, enlarged buffer zones are established to contain propagation.
A clandestine traveler well established with our neighbors
Belgium remains for the moment spared, but elsewhere in Europe, the scarab is gradually installed. “”Northern Italy has been infected since 2014, Switzerland since 2017. Last year, it was settling in Slovenia. And at the beginning of July, individuals were captured in France and Germany, near the common border“, Details AFSCA again.
These insects travel as clandestine passengers in trucks, cars, luggage or other pot plants. And this is precisely what worries: the two specimens found in Belgium came from goods delivered from Italy. The ever -increasing trade and tourist exchanges, and the climate disturbances that make summers longer and more conducive to reproduction, could facilitate the dispersion of the beetle on the old continent.
“I jumped into the water to save my friend Rosa during the floods, but a wave swept over us. His body was found later …”
Hope from Japan?
In Japan, this pest is naturally regulated by a parasitic fly, Istocheta Aldrichiwho lays his eggs on the beetle and paralyzes. This fly is not present in Europe, and several research programs in Switzerland and in the European Union are looking at the possibility of introducing it as a biological control agent, while assessing its potential impact on the environment and its ability to survive in our climates. But no authorization to release this fly in an open environment has been granted in Europe.
In the meantime, each report counts. AFSCA invites citizens to point out any suspicious observation on the site www.waarnemingen.be. Because once installed, the scientific community believes that the Japanese beetle would be almost impossible to eradicate.