Japanese Beetles Have Started To Emerge
Posted on June 25, 2021 by Jen Llewellyn
Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica) adults are starting to take flight in southern Ontario! They have been spotted in Hamilton and Toronto this week.
Look for these shiny green and copper beetles feeding on grape leaves, roses and many other trees and shrubs. Where possible, homeowners can knock adults into a bucket of soapy water (to smother them). Several insecticides are registered for the adults in greenhouses and nurseries, including BeetleGONE.
European chafer (Amphimallon majale) adults are also starting to emerge. Look for medium brown scarab beetle swarming blooming Linden trees (e.g. Tilia cordata). Historically we see them around Canada day in the Guelph area.
And don’t forget about our little friends, the Rose Chafers (Macrodactylus subspinosus), pictured above. They are also out in full force. These scarab beetles feed on the flowers, fruit and foliage of several ornamentals. The larval stage feeds on roots of grasses and weeds (usually a sod nursery pest). Like most scarab beetles, females are more likely to lay their eggs in sandy soils and will avoid egg laying in clay soils. Insecticides for the grub stage of other scarab beetles will also reduce larvae of rose chafer.
Preventative applications of Intercept and Acelepryn are registered for white grubs in nursery and greenhouse production and the application period begins now. (Above photo: European chafer larval feeding damage).
Have questions regarding pesticide applications for this pest? Then check out this post from a few weeks ago on JB control and export regulations.
Thrips got you down? Not sure what you can do to beef up your thrips-management program? Then this new webinar is for you!
On May 14, 2020 the ministry announced the launch of the 
How do you get help in this day and age when your extension agent or consultant can’t just pop into your greenhouse and look at a problem with you? Although nothing can replace seeing an issue first-hand, there is still a way to get help with your pest and production issues from a distance.
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is extending the pesticide certification of those who have certificates expiring this year until December 31, 2020.
This is good news to those of you who have expiring certificates and have not been able to attend an online course. The letters below are also being emailed out to those impacted:
OPEP has also released this press release.
New producers will need to access the online courses that are currently available or contact OPEP for other arrangements:
Ontario Pesticide Education Program
University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus
120 Main Street East,
Ridgetown, ON
N0P 2C0
1-800-652-8573, or 519-674-2230
rcopep@uoguelph.ca
OPEP continues to look at options to improve their online course options and to do testing online.