Colorado Potato Beetle
The Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), as its name implies, is a serious pest of potatoes. It also likes tomatoes and eggplant. Both the adult beetles as well as their larvae feed on the foliage of the plants, skeletonizing them. The females are very prolific, with each one laying as many as 800 eggs. They are very difficult to control because they can rapidly develop resistance to chemicals and so are currently immune to most of the major/traditional classes of pesticides.
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- Colorado Potato Beetle (above: larvae, and below: adults)
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- Pair of Colorado Potato Beetles
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- Colorado Potato Beetle
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- A heavy infestation of Colorado Potato Beetle (larvae and adults)
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- Eggplant damaged by Colorado Potato Beetle
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- Tomato plant damaged by Colorado Potato Beetle
Additional Information:
- Colorado Potato Beetle Biology and Management (UMaine’s PotatoBeetle.org site)