NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — A beetle that’s partial to grapes has surfaced in western Nebraska and poses a threat to grape growers.
The North Platte Telegraph reported (http://bit.ly/18v6ZSW ) Thursday that green June beetles have been found in Lincoln County.
The green June beetles are closely related to common May and June beetles that show up every year in Nebraska.
Entomologist Dave Boxler with the West Central Research and Extension Center said the green June beetles like sugars such as those in tree sap and overripe fruit — especially grapes. The beetles can quickly ruin a grape crop, Boxler said, because they travel in swarms and eat and defecate on the fruit.
Also, once one finds a source of food, it emits a chemical that attracts others, he said.
The beetle was first detected in the state in 1978, in southeast Nebraska’s Richardson County. The next reported sighting didn’t occur until 2003, again in southeast Nebraska.
The green June beetles are native to the eastern and southern parts of the U.S., Boxler said, and they’re common in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Experts think the bugs have been moving north and west because of warmer conditions and milder winters over the past 10 years.
To control the bugs, Boxler said, growers can cover plants with netting and apply insecticide. Digger wasps also can help, because the wasps dig through soil to find beetle larvae and deposit eggs on them. The newly hatched wasps feed on the larvae.
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Information from: The North Platte Telegraph, http://www.nptelegraph.com
