Beautiful but Destructive

Meet the Japanese Rose Beetle

If you received a leafy green veggie with small broccoli rosettes, you have received organic broccoli rabe as your mystery item. The small holes you may encounter are caused by the Japanese rose beetle, which are extremely hard to control using organic methods.

Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) are small insects that carry a big threat. They do not discriminate when it comes to what types of plants they feed on, though they do have favorites (like roses). In fact, they are classified as a pest to hundreds of different species. They are one of the major insect pests in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, causing monumental damage to crop each year.

Prior to the beetle’s accidental introduction to the United States in the early 1900s, the Japanese beetle was found only on the islands of Japan, isolated by water and kept in check by its natural predators. In 1912, a law was passed that made it illegal to import plants rooted in soil. Unfortunately, the failure to implement the law immediately allowed the Japanese beetle to arrive in this country.

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