Invasive insect in Idaho

Idaho state officials want you to be on the lookout for an invasive insect.

The Japanese beetle was recently detected in Idaho in Ada and Kootenai counties. It is about half an inch long, and is shiny metallic green with copper-brown wing covers.

The insect was introduced in the U.S. in 1916 in plants imported from Japan.

Adult Japanese beetles feed on trees, rose bushes, stonefruits and many garden and field crops, leaving holes and skeletonized leaves. The larvae, or grubs, live under the soil surface and destroy patches of turf by feeding on roots of grass.

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture said Thursday that it is setting out its green and yellow traps in Boise and elsewhere in the state.

People who suspect they have found a Japanese beetle in Idaho is asked to seal a dead specimen or two in a sandwich bag and mail in a regular envelope to Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Plant Industries Division, P.O. Box 790, Boise, ID 83701. Include your name, address and phone number. You may also call (208) 332-8620 to report the possible find.

Another invasive insect in Idaho, the elm seed beetle, was announced in July.