Look of Grubs Dying from Milky Spore?

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PeteB7 Trumbull, CT(Zone 7a) May 13, 2013

I've assumed that we have Japanese beetle type of grubs since we had so many of them flying around last season and some problem areas in our lawn. I've just started gardening and had seen hardly any, maybe 2 or 5 with all the digging we'd been doing but assumed that it would be a good idea to put down Milky Spore last Fall. Now we're on the look out for them and we find a few here and there when we are planting, they are in the flower beds also. I found a few this Spring and they seem to look sick but are still alive and I don't really know what to look for in an infected grub. I searched on the web for photos but I'm not sure if the ones I find are pictures of sick ones.

Anyone know what to look for?

I've read that it is supposed to make them look Milky, but what does that mean since healty adult ones are creamy white in color and as I understand it younger ones are the same color but more translucent? I'm finding them to be black at the rear end but that is how they look in many pictures.

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PeteB7 Trumbull, CT(Zone 7a) May 13, 2013

I called St. Gabriel Organics and the lab guy said that if he showed me two side by side I'd probably understand the difference but it is hard to explain. He said that they are closer to paper white when infected but that the best way to tell was to look at the blood under a microscope. He also said that there was a picture of an infected one well along with the disease on their package. Looked at the package and it shows a healthy grub as more clear and translucent with black at the back end, and an infected one as milky white but many people say that these can be white even when healthy. Looking again at the package the healthy one is whiter at the head and I'd say about 10% saturated white but more on the translucent side in the body whereas I'd call the sick one 95% saturated with white. Ours now look more like the sick one, so I'm hoping that it worked.

He suggested that I send 12 live grubs to him for analysis, lol! I asked if it was legal and he said that they have a permit for it so I might do it just out of curiousity.

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PeteB7 Trumbull, CT(Zone 7a) May 13, 2013

There was no really clear picture from the package on the web,
this was the best I could do blown up. First circle is healthy grub, not sure about second, third circle is very sick grub. I have a feeling that this is for illustration and does not cover all the cases:

This message was edited May 13, 2013 3:48 PM

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