milky disease noun2 •A disease of the white grubs of Japanese beetles, caused by a soil-dwelling bacterium, Paenibacillus popilliae.When ingested by a foraging beetle grub [the spores] multiply prodigiously in its blood, causing it to turn an abnormally white color, hence the popular name, “milky disease.” — 1962 •Synonym of grasserie (“disease of silkworms”).
