The Colorado potato beetle is a leaf beetle known for being a major pest to potato crops in North America and Europe. It is most well remembered for being part of a propaganda campaign between East Germany and the CIA during the Cold War.
Size: 10 mm (0.375 in)
Color: Its body is a bright yellowish-orange, with five distinct brown stripes running down each elytra.
Other Characteristic Features: These beetles are oval, weighing around 50-170 mg.
The larvae are an orange-pink color, with a black head. They go through four instars, with the protonum changing from black in the first two to orange-pink in the 3rd, and light brown in the 4th.
Its abdomen has nine segments and prominent trachea. By the final instar, it can reach a length of 15 mm (0.59 in).
Once mature, the larvae pupate in a chamber 2-5 cm below the soil. The pupae are orange and shaped like ovals. Pupation takes place for about 5.8 days.
The oval-shaped eggs are yellowish-orange with a length of 1.7mm.
| Other names | Colorado beetle, ten-striped spearman, ten-lined potato beetle, potato bug |
| Lifespan | 30 days |
| Distribution | Native: Colorado and New Mexico in the United States Invasive: rest of the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands |
| Habitat | Burrows under the soil |
| Predators | Parasitoid wasps like the coffin fly, beetles like Lebia grandis, and other bugs and spiders |
| Seasons active | Year-round depending on temperature |
| Host plants | Potatoes; also other members of the Solanaceae family |
| Diet of adults | Same as larvae |
Both adult beetles and larvae feed on the foliage of potato plants, stunting the plant’s growth. This can lead to complete loss of the crop.
Image Source: saferbrand.com, entoweb.okstate.edu, vegento.russell.wisc.edu, bugguide.net, live.staticflickr.com, extension.umn.edu, gardenerspath.com
The Colorado potato beetle is a leaf beetle known for being a major pest to potato crops in North America and Europe. It is most well remembered for being part of a propaganda campaign between East Germany and the CIA during the Cold War.
Size: 10 mm (0.375 in)
Color: Its body is a bright yellowish-orange, with five distinct brown stripes running down each elytra.
Other Characteristic Features: These beetles are oval, weighing around 50-170 mg.
The larvae are an orange-pink color, with a black head. They go through four instars, with the protonum changing from black in the first two to orange-pink in the 3rd, and light brown in the 4th.
Its abdomen has nine segments and prominent trachea. By the final instar, it can reach a length of 15 mm (0.59 in).
Once mature, the larvae pupate in a chamber 2-5 cm below the soil. The pupae are orange and shaped like ovals. Pupation takes place for about 5.8 days.
The oval-shaped eggs are yellowish-orange with a length of 1.7mm.
| Other names | Colorado beetle, ten-striped spearman, ten-lined potato beetle, potato bug |
| Lifespan | 30 days |
| Distribution | Native: Colorado and New Mexico in the United States Invasive: rest of the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands |
| Habitat | Burrows under the soil |
| Predators | Parasitoid wasps like the coffin fly, beetles like Lebia grandis, and other bugs and spiders |
| Seasons active | Year-round depending on temperature |
| Host plants | Potatoes; also other members of the Solanaceae family |
| Diet of adults | Same as larvae |
Both adult beetles and larvae feed on the foliage of potato plants, stunting the plant’s growth. This can lead to complete loss of the crop.
Image Source: saferbrand.com, entoweb.okstate.edu, vegento.russell.wisc.edu, bugguide.net, live.staticflickr.com, extension.umn.edu, gardenerspath.com
