Area vegetation becomes buffet for Japanese beetles

FISHER – They're scooping Japanese beetles up by the bucketsful in the Fisher area.

In pockets all over the state, the voracious iridescent beetles – the subject of environmental landmark publication "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson – are driving homeowners and farmers crazy. They're stripping trees and flowers, they're clipping corn silks and they're doing significant economic damage to gardeners' food crops too.

Also on this date

• Involuntary manslaughter charge dropped
• Deaths likely not a random act
• United by their service
• Electronic voting proposal rejected
• Obituaries

» More