What does the Colorado potato beetle look like and what it eats. Life cycle and main milestones of the fight against the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes How long does the Colorado potato live

Colorado beetle (Leptinotarsa ​​decemlineata) belongs to the family of leaf beetles, the order Coleoptera. This is one of the most vicious pests of the garden and garden, causing significant damage.

Did you know? For its color of five black stripes on each of the two elytra, the Colorado potato beetle got its name, which literally means ten-line beetle in Latin.

Colorado potato beetle appearance

What does it look like Colorado beetle, many know - its tightly fitting chitinous elytra of orange-yellow color, which are tightly attached to the body, have five black stripes; this combination is very recognizable in the greenery of the garden. The female beetle is slightly larger and heavier than the males. The body of the imago is oval, in length it can reach from 8 to 15 mm, in width - about 7 mm. The belly is orange in color with black spots. The structure of the upper body of the Colorado potato beetle has a convex shape, the lower one is flat. The membranous wings are well developed and allow beetles to fly over long distances. The head of the beetle is much smaller than the body, located almost vertically and slightly retracted, rounded.

The beetle has three pairs of legs. Thin legs of the beetle are weak, with claws for movement of the insect. The eyes are located on the sides, black, bean-shaped. There are antennae near the eyes, which consist of ten segments.

Colorado potato beetle larva approximately 1.5 cm long, with a small black head. The body of the larva is brown in color, which later becomes pale pink, on the sides there are two rows of dark small dots.

The eggs of the pest are bright orange in color, the female lays up to 60 small eggs in one clutch.

Important! When the Colorado potato beetle destroys half of the green mass of a potato bush, its yield will drop by a third.

Where did the Colorado potato beetle come from?

The origin of the Colorado potato beetle begins in Mexico, from its northeastern part, from where it spread to the United States. In 1859, the pest caused colossal damage to potato plantations in Colorado, after which it was named the Colorado potato beetle. It is believed that the pest was introduced to Europe in the 1870s by steamships crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The beetle successfully adapted to life in France and England and spread to other European countries.

In the 1940s, when the Colorado potato beetle first appeared in the USSR, collective farm workers and quarantine teams tried to protect the land from it, but the pest was intensively moving throughout the vast country. The favorable weather conditions, large crops of crops, which fed on the beetle and its larvae, and its fertility had a favorable effect on the dispersal of the harmful insect.
Trying to answer the question of where the Colorado potato beetle came from in Ukraine, many biologists agree that the pest flew en masse from the territory of Hungary and then Czechoslovakia, windy and warm spring when air masses contributed to its extensive and rapid spread.

What does the Colorado potato beetle eat

The Colorado potato beetle is gluttonous, especially since what it eats is always abundant in the gardens - nightshade crops: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers; the pest also eats tobacco, nightshade, wolfberry, henbane, physalis and petunia. Larvae and adults feed on young shoots, flowers and leaves of plants, and in autumn time- potato tubers. Usually, the beetle settles in a small area of ​​plantings, eats the ground part of one plant, after which it moves to others, and the affected crops dry out and gradually die. Since the pest actively reproduces and spreads rapidly, both adults and larvae eat the leaves and stems of plants. The damage from the Colorado potato beetle is enormous and can amount to hectares of cultivated plantations.

Did you know? The adults of the Colorado potato beetle are able to sleep in the ground for up to three years, after which they can appear on the surface - this is how they survive the hungry years.

In the spring, three to five days after the Colorado potato beetles emerge on the soil surface, the process of their reproduction begins, which lasts until autumn. Beetles mate, females place eggs in the amount of 20-70 pieces in secluded places on the back of the leaves or in the branching of shoots. After 7-20 days, a larva hatches from the egg, which then goes through the pupation stage, and already at the beginning of summer a young generation of adult pests appears. The larvae, just emerging from the egg, are up to 3 mm long and already feed on juicy foliage. Life cycle We will consider this pest in more detail in the next paragraph of the article. One female beetle can lay up to a thousand eggs per season.

The most favorable conditions for the reproduction and development of the young generation of the pest are temperatures +21 ... + 23 ° С and humidity at the level of 70-80%. At temperatures below +15 ° C, reproduction does not occur.

If the female managed to fertilize in the fall, in the spring, immediately after wintering, she will lay eggs, from which larvae appear after 2-3 weeks. Characteristic feature The development of Colorado potato beetle larvae are four age categories, each of which ends in molt. In the first stage of age, the gray larva is densely covered with hairs, its body reaches a length of 1.6-2.5 mm, and feeds on the tender pulp of young leaves. In the second stage of age, the larva is slightly pubescent with hairs, its length is 2.5-4.5 mm, it feeds on the soft part of the leaf plate, eating it before skeletonization. The third stage of the larva takes place in a brick color, the body reaches 5-9 mm. The fourth stage of age - the length of the larva is 10-15 mm, the color is from yellow-orange to yellow-red hue, at this stage the pest is most voracious before hatching in the imago.

Important! The main damage to agricultural plantings is caused by the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle, which require a lot of nutrients for their development.

The feeding of the Colorado potato beetle larvae is very intensive, while almost all the foliage of the plant is destroyed. After two to three weeks, the larva deepens into the soil by 10-15 cm for pupation. Depending on the temperature of the ground, the larva pupates within 10-18 days. The hatching pupa is orange or pink, its length is about 9 mm and width is 6 mm, after a few hours its color changes to brown. When pupating in the autumn months, the beetle stays in the soil for the winter without crawling to the surface. If the transformation into adults occurs in the spring-summer period, the beetles crawl out to the surface.

In the first 8 - 21 days of life, the imago actively feeds, storing nutrients that will be useful to him for further resettlement and long-distance flights. An adult beetle is able, with the help of the wind, to move several tens of kilometers from the place of hatching of the larva from the egg. In addition to hibernation, beetles can reduce activity during dry or hot periods, falling into a long sleep lasting up to 30 days, after which its activity continues. The life span of the Colorado potato beetle is 2-3 years, during which it periodically falls into a long diapause.

Where and how the Colorado potato beetle winters

Where does the Colorado potato beetle live in winter period- this question interests many gardeners who are fighting this tenacious pest. After an adult beetle appears from the pupa in the fall, it remains to winter until spring in the thickness of the earth. Adult beetles in the fall are buried in the ground for wintering, and they can survive freezing up to -9 ° С. The wintering of the pest takes place in the soil at a depth of 15-30 cm, in the sandy soil the beetle can go deeper to a depth of half a meter. A certain number of beetle populations may die during severe frosts, but, as a rule, these insects tolerate winter well, being in a long hibernation. When the soil warms up to 14 ° C and the air temperature is above 15 ° C, the beetles begin to wake up from hibernation and gradually creep out to the surface of the earth in search of food.

Colorado potato beetle or Colorado potato beetle ( Leptinotarsa ​​decemlineata) Is an arthropod insect from the order Coleoptera, leaf beetle family, genus Leptinotarsa... It is the only representative of its kind.

Colorado potato beetle: the origin of the word

The Colorado potato beetle gets its name from the 5 distinctive black stripes that are located on each wing of the insect. The Latin word "decemlineata" is translated as "ten-line". The Russian name for the Colorado potato beetle comes from the state of Colorado, in which this pest destroyed all potato fields in 1859. However, there is also an alternative version of the origin of the name of the beetle. According to her, "colorado" in Mexican means "colored", which is quite suitable for his unusual appearance. By the way, the birthplace of the Colorado potato beetle is Mexico.

Colorado potato beetle: description, photo, structure, characteristics. What does the Colorado potato beetle look like?

The Colorado potato beetle, a pest, is a fairly large insect. The size of adults ranges from 8 to 12 mm with a width of about 7 mm. The body shape of beetles is short-oval, reminiscent of a drop of water on a leaf of a plant: flat below, and strongly convex above.

The weight of the Colorado potato beetle varies from 140 to 160 mg, although juveniles are much lighter in weight and size.

The surface of the body is shiny. The color of the back of the Colorado potato beetle is yellowish-black, and the abdomen is light orange. Black bean-shaped eyes are located on the sides of a rather wide, rounded head.

From above, a dark spot is clearly visible on it, which resembles an isosceles triangle. Antennae, which is the organ of touch of the Colorado potato beetle, consists of 11 segments.

The surface of the convex pronotum of the Colorado potato beetle is covered with black spots. Their shape and size are different, moreover, they can be combined with each other, forming a kind of patterns. On the abdomen of the Colorado potato beetle, consisting of 7 segments, black spots are visible in rows.

Three pairs of legs are poorly developed and equipped with peculiar hooks that facilitate the slow crawling of the insect along the stems and leaves of plants.

Strong elytra of the Colorado potato beetle, yellow or yellow-orange in color, with characteristic black longitudinal stripes, fit tightly to the body.

Well-developed webbed wings allow the Colorado potato beetle to make long flights.

How long does the Colorado potato beetle live?

The average life span of the Colorado potato beetle does not exceed 1 year. However, some individuals easily endure unfavorable winter months, falling into diapause, therefore they can live up to three years of age.

There is an insect similar to the Colorado potato beetle - this is the false potato beetle ( Leptinotarsa ​​juncta). It is distributed in North America, in the United States. Slightly different from the Colorado potato beetle in the form of stripes on the elytra and orange legs. Previously, it was believed that the false potato beetle does not eat potato tops, but these facts have not been confirmed: it, like the Colorado potato beetle, feeds on the leaves of nightshade crops.

Colorado potato beetle: distribution. How did the Colorado potato beetle come about?

The distribution area of ​​the Colorado potato beetle, a pest of potatoes, does not include only the regions of the far north and desert zones. Small populations are noted in the UK, but there they are successfully fighting the Colorado potato beetle. Beginning in 1855, these beetles have wreaked havoc on the nightshade crop in Mexico and North America. The Colorado potato beetle appeared in European countries at the end of the 19th century, and by the beginning of the 40s of the 20th century, insects were widely spread in almost all countries of Western and Central Europe. Farmers in Spain and Holland, France and Poland, Italy and Germany, Lithuania and Belarus, Latvia and Ukraine suffer from the invasion of the Colorado potato beetle, which causes great damage to agriculture. Into European territory the former USSR the first beetles hit in the early 50s of the last century, and since the mid 70s, populations of the pest were noted in the southern Urals. Already by the beginning of the present XXI century, the regions of the Primorsky Territory of Russia entered the distribution area of ​​the Colorado potato beetle.

Where does the Colorado potato beetle winter and when does it appear?

The beetles wait out the unfavorable winter months, burrowing into the ground to a depth of 0.5 m, and calmly endure the freezing of the soil to -9 o C. With the onset of heat and the soil warming up to 13 degrees, the insects get out to the surface and immediately begin to search for food. Unfortunately, this process takes almost 2 months, which makes pest control much more difficult.

What does the Colorado potato beetle eat?

Colorado beetles and their larvae feed mainly on leaves and green shoots of nightshade crops. They find food wherever eggplants, bell peppers and tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco grow. Wild plants belonging to this family can also eat.

However, the main food that the Colorado potato beetle eats is potatoes. Insects eat it almost completely, from leaves to tubers. In search of food, beetles can fly long distances. Despite the fact that insects are very gluttonous, they easily endure forced hunger, which can drag on for up to 2 months.

How does the Colorado potato beetle reproduce? Development stages of the Colorado potato beetle

With the onset of warmth, the overwintered beetles get out to the surface and, having gained strength, begin to mate. The clutch of the Colorado potato beetle can be found on the underside of the leaf.

Colorado potato beetle eggs

Colorado potato beetle female for the summer season, depending on climatic conditions the region is capable of laying about one thousand eggs. The eggs of the Colorado potato beetle have an oblong-oval shape and reach 1.8 mm in size. Depending on the stage of development of eggs, lasting from 5 to 17 days, their color changes from lemon yellow to dark yellow, sometimes with an orange tint. At the end of the term, the larva of the Colorado potato beetle appears from the egg.

Colorado potato beetle larva

The larva of the Colorado potato beetle of the first stage is characterized by a dark gray color. Its body up to 2.5 mm long is covered with fine hairs. At this age, she feeds on the pulp of the leaf, gnawing it from the bottom.

Larvae of the second instar are colored red and reach 4.5 mm in size. They already destroy all the pulp of the leaf, leaving only one central vein from it.

Larvae of the third instar are characterized by a red-yellow color and up to 9 mm long. The hairs characteristic of the first two stages are absent on the surface of the body.

In the fourth stage of development, the larva of the Colorado potato beetle reaches 16 mm in size and is colored orange with a yellow tint. Starting from the third age, they are able to move to neighboring plants and eat the pulp of leaves and young shoots.

The larval stage of the Colorado potato beetle lasts up to 3 weeks, after which the pupal stage begins. The development of a pink or yellow-orange pupa occurs in the soil at a depth of 10 cm. The duration of the phase depends on weather conditions. After 10-20 days, an adult insect is selected to the surface.

The color of the young Colorado potato beetle is bright orange, and the insect itself has a soft protective cover. However, after 3-4 hours, the beetles acquire a familiar appearance. For 20 days, the insect feeds intensively and is able to reproduce offspring again. Colorado beetles that appeared in early August go into hibernation without reproduction.

One of the features inherent only in this species of leaf beetles is its ability to go into a prolonged diapause lasting up to 3 years.

Colorado potato beetle larvae and ladybug pupae

Colorado potato beetle larvae and pupae are similar in appearance. If you don't really look closely, then it is very easy to confuse them, however, upon closer examination, some differences are revealed:

• the pupa of a ladybug is motionless, it is, as it were, attached to a leaf, and the larva of the Colorado potato beetle moves freely around the plant;
• in the pupa of a ladybug, multi-colored spots are "scattered" all over the body, while in the larva of the Colorado potato beetle there are only two rows of black dots located on the sides;
• Colorado potato beetle larva feeds on the leaves of nightshade crops, the food of the ladybug larva consists mainly of.

USA. This is the homeland of the Colorado potato beetle. In 1855, Nebraska farmers harvesting fields discovered a hitherto unknown pest and vegetables badly spoiled by it.

Four years later, the beetle was spotted in Colorado. It was then that he got his name. The insect quickly overrun territory of North America.

By chance, he was transported along with bales on steamers across the Atlantic Ocean and left in Europe, where he also took root. The beetle settled in Germany, in the city of Leipzig.

After some time, it was possible to exterminate the pest, but after that it was brought to European states more than once. Attacks on the Colorado potato beetle were initially successful. And then the First World War began, and summer residents were not up to it.

The beetle is firmly entrenched in the French side, in Bordeaux. When he got bored with this place of residence, he moved on. After a while, all the countries of Europe were united by the common problem of pest control. Only England was lucky - although the beetle got there, it is rarely seen on farms.

How did you arrive in the Russian Federation?

Where did the Colorado beetles come from in Russia? In summer, winds often blow eastward. The Colorado potato beetle also took this into account. He set off to the East from European countries and already in the 40s crossed the border of the Soviet Union. First of all, the insect attacked the Ukrainian fields... A few years later he was noticed in Kaliningrad and Brest.

In 1958 Transcarpathia was struck by the influx of Colorado beetles, Lithuania did not get away from the misfortune, to which the pests moved from Poland. The beetle did not stop there and went for a walk around the Union.

He got to Russia in 1975- the potato lover was brought by a freight train in straw from the Ukrainian side. The South Urals fell under the "bombardment", and then the spread began throughout the country.

Now you know where the Colorado potato beetle came from in Russia. To combat it, they are often used. In addition, to combat it, the stores sell various.

See the description and photos of the Colorado potato beetle below.

What does it look like?

Small bugs, barely hatched from eggs, have an orange body. But only a few hours pass after birth, and the colors darken. The beetle turns brown, the stripes turn pink... Gradually, light stripes fade, and brown ones turn black.

The size of an adult reaches 1.2 cm in length and 7 mm in width. The body of the beetle is rounded, convex.... It has wings and light elytra, on which dark lines are pronounced. 5 lines on one elytron, 5 on the other.

With the help of wings, the pest can fly. This gives him the ability to move mobile over long distances and attack neighboring areas. But the beetle flies only in the hottest weather and before going down to the winter quarters.

Description of the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle. Colorado potato beetle larvae can grow up to 1.2 cm. As we grow up, the body becomes saturated with orange.... This is because the body of the larva receives a substance - carotene, which gives color, and he is not able to digest it.

For information on how effective the drug Tabu from the Colorado potato beetle is, see.

Outwardly, the young larva looks like a ladybug:

• medium-sized;
• brown;
• has points on the body;
• the head is black.

Brightens after reaching adulthood and turns slightly orange. What the Colorado potato beetle looks like, see the photo below.

Methods of dealing with Colorado potato beetle larvae, see.

Are there varieties?

Are there species of the Colorado potato beetle? Colorado potato beetle is independent species , belongs to the family of leaf beetles. There are no varieties of the Colorado potato beetle.

Who can be confused with?

Is there a beetle similar to the Colorado potato beetle? In appearance, the pest is very similar to another insect: the false Colorado potato beetle. He also likes nightshades, especially tobacco, physalis, but oh he does not pose a threat to the household... The false beetle does not have potato preferences, it multiplies far from it, so you should not be afraid of it.

Breeding features

Where does the Colorado potato beetle come from? After wintering, when warm spring days come and the sun warms up, Colorado beetles emerge from the ground... After a couple of weeks, after the completion of the recovery period, they lie in the sun - warm up... At the same time, the beetles begin to eat and mate. After three days or more, eggs are laid.

Beetles place their eggs on the leaves of potato bushes, on the upper side. Therefore, it is extremely important to periodically inspect the plants: the sooner pests are found, the easier it will be to remove them.

Reproduction of the Colorado potato beetle and the mating process begins in the fall. In this case, in the spring, insects after sleeping and having eaten, they immediately lay eggs... For both processes - both laying and mating, beetles choose good weather when the sky is clear and the sun is shining. For information on the main stages of development of the Colorado potato beetle, see below.

Read also the material about the best folk remedies fight against the Colorado potato beetle and.

Development stages

The life cycle of the Colorado potato beetle includes 4 stages:

1. Eggs, delayed by old pests.
2. A larva that hatches from an egg. Her life is also divided into 4 stages, during which she throws off the shell four times.
3. Doll. The developed larva slides off the leaf, goes underground and pupates.
4. Young beetle. He comes out of the chrysalis, crawls onto the potatoes and eats the leaves.

Read about how to expel the Colorado potato beetle using mustard.

How and where do they spend the winter?

How and where does the Colorado potato beetle winter? Favorite soil depth, where the pest is taken for the time of severe winter cold weather - 10-30 centimeters. In areas where the soil is looser, consists of sand, insects burrow even deeper- up to 40 centimeters, sometimes up to 50.

The closer the beetle lies to the surface of the earth, the higher the likelihood that it will not survive the cold. Almost half of all Colorado pests that have settled at a depth of no more than 10 centimeters die.

Those that lie further - at about 25 centimeters deep, die in the amount of 13%. The most insulated - at the 50-centimeter mark - will spend the winter safely. Of these, only 0.2 percent of adults will freeze.

Some representatives of this species of insects, having given birth to their offspring, go into a second hibernation. This usually occurs in forest and forest-steppe belts. Secondary winter about 20% of the population.

About which bird eats the Colorado potato beetle, see below.

What kind of birds is he afraid of?

Do guinea fowls eat Colorado beetles? The methods of dealing with the Colorado potato beetle are extremely diverse. For example, striped pest can be partially exterminated with the help of feathered: its larvae are popular with pheasants. Indeed, guinea fowls eat Colorado beetles.

Growing up individuals are eaten by turkeys, but this is not inherent in nature, therefore, from a very young age, breeders must accustom them to this.

The bird that eats the Colorado potato beetle is a turkey. For the turkey to love the taste of the Colorado potato beetle, to its feed the farmer sprinkles some pounded pests, each time increasing the amount. You can also place insects inside a slice of bread and let the turkey taste.

A bird that itself expresses a desire to feast on a beetle is called a guinea fowl. She likes Colorado pests because their body is saturated with proteins, and the bird cannot live without it.

Keep insects out of the field so that the guinea fowl finds them on its own. It is better to add bugs to her food, as they do when teaching turkeys.

Parallel to this, sometimes it is necessary to slip beetles on the bird separately, not mixing with other food - this will allow the guinea fowl to recognize the true taste of the pest and remember it.

When the animal is convinced that the Colorado potato beetle is a delicacy, it can be allowed to “float freely,” that is, on a field planted with potatoes. The guinea fowl itself will collect insects from the leaves, and at the same time peck at larvae and eggs.

One guinea fowl will not be enough for one garden. It is desirable to have 3-4 birds. It is best to release them for self-feeding when the pests have just appeared. This will guarantee their complete destruction.

See also the material on how to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle using.

So, we found out the features of the life of the Colorado potato beetle.

Let's note the most important points:

• the pest is addicted to potatoes and eats its leaves;
• the Colorado potato beetle can be easily confused with a false beetle that does not pose a threat to vegetables;
• the insect lays eggs mainly in the spring and chooses potato leaves for this;
• the enemy of the Colorado potato beetle is the guinea fowl bird;
• beetles do not tolerate smells, especially rotten onions.

Conclusion

Any farm to one degree or another endangered by the invasion of the Colorado potato beetle. If this happened, you must immediately take on its destruction. Several measures will bring the greatest impact used in the complex. Most effective means the fight against the Colorado potato beetle is considered, and.

28.11.2016

The Colorado potato beetle belongs to the species of leaf beetles. It feeds mainly on potato leaves, less often on other nightshade plants. This type of insect is fertile and has an overly good appetite, which together leads to a decrease in the yield or its complete death. That is why Colorado potato beetles must be destroyed at the very beginning of the planting season.

From the history

The homeland of the Colorado potato beetle is the country of eternal summer Mexico. It was there that they first encountered him in 1824. The insect, unremarkable at that time, ate the leaves of tomato, eggplant and pepper, less often the leaves of petunia and tobacco.

During the period of the spread in the United States of a new crop - potato, a small pest tried it too. Since then, potatoes have become his staple favorite, both in spring and summer.

In Colorado, in 1959, an insect caused colossal damage to fields planted with potatoes. Therefore, the name was assigned to it - "Colorado potato beetle". After this incident, the story of the Colorado potato beetle began to seize other territories.

Thanks to the development of shipping in 1876, the bug successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Germany, where it was first discovered in the vicinity of Leipzig. Now people knew what the Colorado potato beetle looked like and how its presence in the fields threatened. Initially, the centers of the appearance of insects were closely monitored, measures were taken and their further spread was prevented.

The first World War pushed insect control tasks into the background. We had to forget for a while about what the Colorado potato beetle harms to plants. This contributed to the further victorious march of insatiable pests towards Europe. The French town of Bordeaux, where the American military base was located, became the "window" to Europe. This is where food supplies from the United States came, including potatoes. From this point, the spread of insects began on the territory of France, which then could no longer be stopped.

When the Colorado potato beetle appeared in Russia, few people were ready to meet with it.

The insect got to the USSR after the end of the Second World War. In 1949, it was found in Ukraine, in 1953, places of accumulation of leaf beetles were recorded simultaneously in the vicinity of Kaliningrad and Brest, in the Grodno and Volyn regions. Thanks to the dry and warm summer of 1958, insect orders spread with lightning speed in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic States. The area from which the Colorado potato beetle appeared in Russia is now difficult to pinpoint. According to one of the versions, it was brought from Ukraine to the South Urals in 1975 in wagons with straw. Since then, its population has increased and spread throughout Russia.

Development cycle of the Colorado potato beetle

How long does the Colorado potato beetle live and where the Colorado potato beetle lives - these questions concern everyone who annually carries out a lot of all kinds of measures to destroy the insect, and next summer meets again with an uninvited guest.

The life cycle of an insect varies from one to three years. The striped enemy is very resistant to adverse factors environment... The place where the Colorado potato beetle hibernates is not so easy to find. With the onset of cold weather, it hides underground at a depth of 20 to 50, and sometimes up to 70 cm, so it can survive inclement weather and severe frosts. In the spring, when the soil warms up, he leaves his home and crawls to the surface in search of food. The appearance of insects occurs at intervals and can last up to two months, which makes it difficult to control them. Three or five days after the "emergence" of the beetles, the "mating" period begins, as a result of which numerous eggs of the Colorado potato beetle appear on the back of the leaves.

There is a wealth of data on how the Colorado potato beetle reproduces. According to some of them, the female lays up to 30 eggs per day, and during the season, depending on favorable conditions and climate, she can produce up to 1000 or more. After 5-18 days, larvae crawl out of dense orange eggs.

There are four stages of development of the Colorado potato beetle: egg, face, pupa, and adult beetle.

The larva has four more stages. Consider what the larva of the Colorado potato beetle looks like at each stage of its development:

• At the first stage, the larva with a black head becomes dark gray, sometimes dark brown; the body with hairs is no more than 2 mm in size;
• At the second stage, the color changes, becomes bright red, the length increases to 4.5 mm, the hairs thin out;
• At the third stage, the color becomes red-yellow, the size reaches 9 mm, there are no hairs on the body;
• During the fourth stage, the size of the larva increases to 12 mm.

During the period of development and growth, the larvae feed on the same thing that the Colorado potato beetle feeds on, but they bring much more damage to the plants than the formed individual. They completely eat up the leaves, leaving only veins, they also destroy the stems, flowers, and later get to the tubers.

At the fourth stage, the larva goes underground for 10, sometimes 15 days, where the pupation process takes place and it turns into a mature individual.

About the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle

The young beetle is bright orange in color and has a soft cover. After several stages of development, it darkens and takes on its usual yellow-orange appearance with stripes on the elytra and dark spots on the front dorsum.

Weighing up to 160 mg, the size of an adult insect reaches 7 mm in width and 12 mm in length. The insect has well-developed wings, thanks to which it can travel long distances. The Colorado potato beetle flies at a speed of 8 km / h downwind.

Harm from the Colorado potato beetle

The complete death of the crop is the main reason why the Colorado potato beetle is dangerous. Having ruthlessly wiped out all this year's plantings, it can easily survive next season's crop failure and reappear in a couple of years when the situation changes.

The ability to hibernate helps insects survive and prevents effective fight with them. In case of danger, the beetle is able to simulate death. He falls to the ground, freezes and comes to life when the threat is gone.

The Colorado potato beetle is also dangerous for its insecticide resistance. Many chemical preparations have ceased to act on the pest, as over time it has developed "immunity" to these substances.

It is not worth waiting for help in the fight against pests from animals and birds. Eating nightshades, the insect accumulates toxic substances that they contain, and becomes inedible for many representatives of the fauna. Therefore, he has few natural enemies.

Despite the fact that fighting the Colorado potato beetle is exhausting and difficult, there is still hope for victory. There are many methods of struggle with positive results.

Take action as soon as you spot an intruder. Save your harvest.

The Colorado potato beetle is the most dangerous pest of potatoes. The body length of an adult beetle is 7 ... 12 millimeters, the color varies from brilliant yellow to reddish-brown, there are 10 black stripes on the underwings. The larva is orange-red, fleshy, convex above, sticky. Beetles and larvae roughly eat leaves. The pest is especially dangerous during the budding and flowering period of potatoes.

Beetles overwinter in the soil at a depth of 20 ... 100 centimeters. In spring, at a soil temperature of 12 degrees at a depth of 10 centimeters, the beetles come to the surface of the soil and begin to eat the young leaves of the tops. Females lay orange eggs on the underside of leaves in small heaps - about 30 in each. The larvae hatching after 5 ... 17 days feed on leaves for 3 weeks, then go into the soil at the base of the plants to a depth of 5 ... 8 centimeters and pupate. After 6 ... 15 days, pupae turn into beetles, which emerge on the soil surface.

Depending on climatic conditions, it develops from one to three generations. The release of beetles from wintering sites under unfavorable conditions is very extended and can last up to 3 months, therefore, the period of oviposition and hatching of larvae is lengthened. The development of one generation of the Colorado potato beetle requires a sum of effective temperatures of about 335 degrees with a threshold of about 12 degrees.

Colorado potato beetle control measures. Hand picking on small plantations. In the fields where they hibernate, apply liquid ammonia or nitrogen fertilizers. Spraying with preparations 2 ... 3 times with a waiting period of 20 days. The preparations must be alternated, as the beetle develops resistance. When treated with fungicides with copper chloride, polycarbacin, many larvae die. Can be processed with red pepper.

Control measures also include deep digging of the soil, which contributes to the death of the pest during the wintering period. Fertilizing when planting potatoes. High hilling of potatoes before closing the rows. Loosening of the row spacing every 3 ... 5 days after the larvae leave the soil for pupation. Backfilling with soil when hilling the lower leaves during the period of oviposition and the release of larvae from them. Mowing tops 7 ... 10 days before harvesting to deprive beetles of food that have not gone into the soil for wintering. An infusion of wormwood with ash, finely chopped leaves and stepchildren of tomato, garlic, poplar leaves (1 kilogram of leaves per bucket of water), a decoction of hot pepper, an ash-and-soap solution works well against the pest.

A good remedy for the Colorado potato beetle is a solution of celandine and calcium chloride. To prepare it, 1 ... 1.5 parts by volume of celandine is infused with 9 ... 10 parts of warm water for 3 ... 4 hours, then 10 ... 15 grams are dissolved in 0.5 ... 1 liter of water calcium chloride, mixed with celandine infusion and filtered. After processing, the aisles are sprinkled with crushed dry celandine.

Tansy flowers spread between potato bushes, as well as planted spring garlic, dill, marigolds (tagetes) have a deterrent effect.