French authorities call for vigilance after detection of Japanese beetle outbreaks on Swiss border

This beetle is considered a serious threat to agriculture.

French departments, including Doubs, have warned in recent days about the risk of proliferation of the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) after the detection of several outbreaks in Switzerland. Classified as a “priority quarantine organism” within the European Union, the Japanese beetle attacks several hundred species of food, forest and ornamental plants including vines, fruit trees and lawns.

A population of Japanese beetles was detected on June 20 in Switzerland near Basel. Swiss authorities discovered a second outbreak 3.5 km from the French border.

The harmful beetle is approaching French territory. The alerts from the Doubs and Haut-Rhin departments in particular come after a communication on June 21 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty to raise awareness of the risk to crops and plantations and the potential economic impact.

Originally from Asia, this plant-eater first established itself in the United States and then in Europe. It has been present in Italy since 2014 and in Switzerland since 2017. Adult specimens “measure approximately 10-12 mm long and can be confused with other beetles present in France, notably certain cockchafers”explains the Doubs prefecture. The Japanese beetle travels in trains or trucks.

Since June 2024, 39 traps have been installed throughout Alsace near the “sites at risk of introduction” (customs platform, rail freight station, airports, motorway service areas, road centres, market, station, etc.), the Grand Est region prefecture announced on 19 July.
“The discovery of the outbreaks in Basel led to the establishment of increased surveillance in France on the Swiss border (particularly in the commune of Saint-Louis) where traps are set at a rate of one trap every kilometre”explained the region’s prefecture.

A prefectural decree prohibits the transport “soil, plants rooted in the ground, rolls of pre-cultivated turf, plant debris, and compost” outside a demarcated area. The municipalities of Hégenheim, Hésingue, Huningue, Saint-Louis and Village-Neuf close to the Swiss border are affected by this ban. The French authorities wish to raise awareness among the population. The most effective way to combat the proliferation of the Japanese beetle remains surveillance to stop any proliferation of outbreaks.

People living near Switzerland are invited to report the presence of Japanese beetles in their gardens to the authorities. This report, accompanied by photos, can be made by email to alerte-vegetaux-sral.draaf-bourgogne-franche-comté@agriculture.gouv.fr or by completing an online form on the website www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/declaration-de-capture-ou-d-observation-d-un-scara. You can also call 03.39.59.40.95.