Within WP1,
• An innovative, remotely controlled monitoring trap prototype was designed, and tested at several locations and different European countries. The trap reached marketability at the end of the project and is available on the market in the first half of 2025.
• The IPM-Popilla Citizen Science App was released and enables immediate upload of beetle sightings; recently, the App has been opened for co-use with another project and is now also used for monitoring of two invasive fruit flies.
• P. japonica habitat suitability predictors have been combined with an estimate of “connectivity” of the European regions (train routes, plane routes, road cargo routes) and other relevant data into a risk based surveillance model.
• The worldwide colonization route of P. japonica has been reconstructed. Investigations have shown that P. japonica has been introduced from the US to Europe at least twice.
Within WP2,
• a fairly complete and annotated genome of P. japonica genome has been produced in the course of the project.
• Sites with heavy and with low population densities of P. japonica within the same region have been investigated, and the influence of abiotic parameters as well as the soil microbiome and selected arthropods have been investigated.
New candidate biocontrol agents have been identified, e.g. the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria pseudobassiana, which seems to be better adapted to above ground environmental conditions. The latter may come in handy for biocontrol of adult beetles in crop canopies.
Within WP3,
• Strains of entomopathogenic nematodes as natural antagonists of P. japonica larvae have been isolated and tested, and have reached efficacy levels of up to 90%.
• Attract-and-kill devices with LLINs (long-lasting insecticide-treated nets) have been tested successfully and are already used in practice for the containment of outbreak populations with low to medium population densities.
• Horizontal transmission of fungal spores between infested and healthy P. japonica adults has been proved in the lab, and in two independent field experiments. Autodissemination may be a promising tool in P. japonica control.
Within WP4,
• A project website was designed and launched in the internet. Furthermore, social media activities were started, and web content has been created for extended outreach to users.
• A survey on the economic losses of the P. japonica invasion, and the willingness to pay for biological control of the invasive pest has been carried out.
• The main deliverable of the project, our so-called IPM-Popillia Vade mecum, has been released. It is designed to be easily comprehensible, represents a good mixture between being concise and exhaustive, and covers all major aspects of P. japonica management.
