POTATO BUGS SERIES

Adult Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say). The underside of the beetle and the legs are mostly dark (Capinera 2001).įigure 2.

Elytron punctation is coarse in irregular rows. Vittae 2 through 5 extend more than half the length of the elytron and are very distinct. Vitta 1 is shorter than other four and adjacent to the sutural margin. In Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the pale yellow elytra are outlined in black, with each elytron having five vittae (broad longitudinal stripes). The head has a triangular black spot and the thorax has irregular dark markings (Capinera 2001). They are robust and oval in shape when viewed from above. The latter incorrectly has been called the false Colorado potato beetle because of its similarity to Leptinotarsa decemlineata.Īdults: The adults measure about 3/8 inch long and are yellowish-orange with multiple black stripes down the back with five per elytron (Wilkerson et al. Two species of Leptinotarsa occur in Florida: Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the Colorado potato beetle, and Leptinotarsa juncta, the false potato beetle. Species of Leptinotarsa are recognized by the following features: maxillary palpi (mouthparts) with apical segment shorter than preceding, truncate mesosternum not raised above the level of prosternum profemur of male simple. The genus Leptinotarsa is assigned to the tribe Doryphorini containing three genera in the United States, recognized by having the procoxal cavities open behind, and simple claws separate at the base and usually divergent. The false potato beetle, Leptinotarsa juncta (Germar), is found primarily in the eastern United States from northern Florida to eastern Texas (with only Sabine County reported as of 2005) (Quinn 2008), north to Missouri, southern Illinois and Indiana, and east to Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. The species has been introduced into Europe and parts of Asia (Capinera 2001). It also occurs in southern Canada and is a pest in Central America. It was first reported in Florida in 1920, but it is not often a major pest.

The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), occurs in Mexico and in most of the United States (except Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Nevada), including Florida. It was Riley (1867) who first used the combination Colorado potato beetle. This convinced him that it was native to Colorado. Colorado was not associated with the insect until Walsh (1865) stated that two of his colleagues had seen large numbers of the insect in the territory of Colorado feeding on buffalo-bur.

POTATO BUGS SERIES

It had a series of names from 1863 to 1867, including the ten-striped spearman, ten-lined potato beetle potato-bug, and new potato bug. The evolution of the name Colorado potato beetle is curious because the beetle is believed to have originated in central Mexico, not Colorado. The insect began its rapid spread eastward, reaching the Atlantic Coast by 1874. The insect's association with the potato plant, Solanum tuberosum (L.), was not known until about 1859 when it began destroying potato crops about 100 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska. and described in 1824 by Thomas Say from specimens collected in the Rocky Mountains on buffalo-bur, Solanum rostratum Ramur. Photograph by David Cappaert, Michigan State University, The Colorado potato beetle was first discovered by Thomas Nuttal in 1811. Colorado potato beetles, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), feeding on foliage. The more notable of these two is the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), which is a serious pest of potatoes and other solanaceous plants.įigure 1. While most species north of Mexico are found in the southwestern United States, two species are found either in the eastern states or throughout most of the United States (Arnett 2002). True potato beetles are members of the genus Leptinotarsa, with more than 40 species throughout North and South America, including at least 10 species found north of Mexico. of Florida - Management - Selected References Introduction (Back to Top) Introduction - Distribution - Description - Life Cycle - Hosts - Key to the Leptinotarsa spp. Scientific name: Leptinotarsa juncta (Germar) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Scientific name: Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) common name: false potato beetle

Potato bugs