The aim of IPM-Popillia is to address the challenge of a new risk to plant health in Europe, the invasion of the Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica. This pest was introduced accidentally to mainland Europe in 2014 (EPPO 2014) and can easily spread in the course of trade and the movement of goods and people. P. japonica threatens the entire agricultural sector, urban landscapes, and biodiversity in invaded areas.

Prevention of the species’ invasion faces two constraints: The possibilities to restrict the movement of goods and people are limited, and successful eradication of the population established south of the Italian-Suisse border is impossible. With the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Citizen Science App, the public can contribute sightings of the Japanese Beetle and participate in location monitoring. The App allows recording of beetle sightings, selection of damaged crops, fruits, vegetables, and other plant species. With your Citizen Science observations for agricultural fields or also in your garden and private horticulture, you help the team of IPM Popillia to combat the invasive species and ensure food safety in agriculture in Europe, the US, and beyond.

Recently, EFSA and the JCR of the European commission have nominated P. japonica as a candidate high priority pest in the new EU Plant health Law. Against this background, it is paramount to develop measures, which help to confine the spread of the new pest and prevent the build-up of high population densities that cause economic loss to agricultural crops and increase migration pressure of the Japanese beetles.

The project IPM-Popillia develops these measures. It involves teams working in the core of the recent outbreak area, conducting fit-for-purpose practical research in a European environment that can be applied immediately, as short-term containment measures. In the longer term, IPM-Popillia provides tools and advice on how to manage the pest on a larger, European continental scale, and on how to be better prepared for similar pest invasions in the future.
The interactive App and the user community run on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science platform on www.spotteron.app.