![]() In the 1980s, it turned out that a different but related bacteria was actually being produced, which had little activity on Japanese beetle grubs. This is normally accomplished by injecting live grubs with bacterial spores. Nor will the bacteria develop on a dead insect, so infection needs to be induced through artificial means. Milky spore disease does not germinate well on an artificial medium or in test tubes. Milky spore disease was produced initially by collecting thousands of Japanese beetle larvae from the wild each spring and fall and bringing them to a laboratory for processing. Ingestion of the bacteria does not always produce infection as spores may pass through the gut and be discharged with fecal matter. Infested grubs eventually die, and bacterial spores disperse into the surrounding soil. The bacterial spores reproduce within the grub, eventually turning the hemolymph, the internal insect fluids, an opaque white. Japanese beetle grubs must ingest the bacteria because the primary mode of entry is through the mouth. However, all larval stages are susceptible to the bacteria. It is effective only in controlling Japanese beetle grubs it has virtually no activity on other grub species. The bacterium is applied to turfgrass as a dust. Milky spore disease is a bacterium that was initially referred to as Bacillus popillae, but it is now known as Paenibacillus popillae. It became available commercially for use on turfgrass in 1948. This bacterium was first detected in New Jersey in 1933. One of the first microbial insecticides ever registered in the United States was milky spore disease. However, there is growing interest in the use of alternative pest control materials such as beneficial nematodes and microbial-based insecticides. All these materials are highly effective in maintaining Japanese beetle grub numbers below damaging levels. The primary method of managing Japanese beetle grubs in turfgrass is with the use of insecticides such as trichlorfon (Dylox), halofenozide (Mach 2), and imidacloprid (Merit).
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