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Colorado potato beetle

This black and yellow striped leaf beetle of American origin came to Europe via ships in the 19th century. The beetle is about 10 mm in size and is very harmful.

Also known as:
Colorado beetle
Potato bug

recognize colorado potato beetle
Colorado potato beetle, photo Fritz Geller-Grimm - CC BY-SA 3.0
recognize Colorado potato beetle
Colorado potato beetle, photo: US – Agricultural Research Service

Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). This black and yellow striped leaf beetle of American origin came to Europe via ships in the 19th century. The beetle is about 10 mm in size and is very harmful: its larvae and beetles eat the leaves of potato plants.
As a newcomer, the Colorado potato beetle has no enemies resistant to the venom of the beetle and its larvae.
The beetles hibernate in the soil at a depth of 20 – 50 cm on plots where potatoes have been grown and hatch again from late April to late May. The beetles crawl or fly to young potato plants, and are therefore first found mainly along edges of plots.
As a hobby gardener, it is therefore important to capture or destroy first-generation beetles to limit egg deposition.

Where to find

  • Potato

Control

Check the potato plants regularly for eggs on the underside of the leaves, destroy them. Hold a bucket under the plants and shake the plants: the beetles are startled and drop into the bucket.

Prevention

Found eggs and larvae must be destroyed.
Crush the eggs and larvae and leave the remains. Those remains attract the larvae of ladybugs that also eat the eggs of the Colorado potato beetle. Beetle and larva of the Colorado potato beetle are poisonous, the eggs are not.

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