Long‐lasting insecticide‐treated nets: A new integrated pest management approach for Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). (11th January 2019) - Marianelli, Leonardo
ABSTRACT: The Japanese beetle Popillia japonica Newman is a US and EU quarantine insect pest that has recently invaded northern Italy. Its ability to rapidly spread in new areas makes this insect a threat to agriculture. In the last decades, several trials on biological control of the Japanese beetle by entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi have been carried out with variable efficacy. However, the necessity of an integrated pest management approach to improve control has arisen. Long‐lasting insecticide‐treated nets (LLINs) have been used to control other agricultural pests with an attract‐and‐kill strategy. Here, we present results from laboratory evaluation of 2 LLINs, Storanet® (BASF™) and ZeroFly® (Vestergaard™), against P. japonica adults. Both were effective in killing the beetles; however, some differences emerged if different exposure times were compared: ZeroFly® always gave 100% mortality in tests from 5‐s to 30‐min exposure; Storanet® showed 100% mortality only with 30‐min exposure and going down to 89%–99% mortality for 5‐s to 15‐min exposure. A description of the paralysis process occurring at 5‐s exposure is given. Possible field application of LLINs within programs of integrated pest management is discussed. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:259–265. © 2018 SETAC Key Points: The biological invasion of Popillia japonica in Italy needs to be limited. In recent years, entomopathogenic nematodes and double‐lure traps have been employed with variable efficacy and have also created management problems. Here, we tested for the first time in the laboratory the use of 2 long‐lasting insecticide‐treated nets against this pest; the resulting high mortality indicates an additional way to create an integrated pest management approach to the outbreak.