Population survey and bacterial control of the Japanese beetle in Happy Valley, Blount Co., Tennessee

The Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae) was first detected in the United States in 1916 and entered Tennessee in about 1936. The adult and larval stages damage plants in most of Eastern Tennessee yearly. Adult population surveys were carried out during the summer of 1978 and 1979 in Happy Valley, Blount County, Tennessee. Adults began emerging on 2 June in 1979. A peak of 5,934 beetles per trap was reached on 26 July 1978 and 5,095 per trap on 19 July 1979. Larval surveys in 1978 and 1979 detected densities of 5.2 larvae 2 2 per 0.09m² and 2.0 larvae per 0.09m² respectively. In a mark, release, and recapture of adults, 98% of recaptured beetles were within 200 meters of the release site with a recapture range of 5.1m to 2.24km. Milky Spore, a commercial mixture of spores of Bacillus popilliae Dutky, B. lentimorbus Dutky, and talc, was applied to the study area as a biological control agent. One infected grub was detected in October, 1979. Bioassays were made of all Milky Spore used. Levels of infectivity ranged from 0 to 12%.