Colorado potato beetle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Colorado potato beetle |
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Leptinotarsa
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L. decemlineata
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| Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say, 1824
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The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, is a beetle. It is sometimes just called the Colorado beetle. It is one of the worst potato pests in the world.
The beetle is notable for its ability to resist pesticides. Over the last 50 years it has become resistant to 52 chemical compounds used in insecticides, including cyanide. However, not every population is resistant to every chemical.
The Colorado beetle first lived in the southwest United States and northern Mexico. Now it lives in most of North America and also in Europe and Asia.
Contents
What it eats
The Colorado potato beetle now eats cultivated potato plants. Both larvae and adults eat the leaves and strip the plant down to a skeleton. They may also attack tomato and eggplants. There can be so many Colorado potato beetles in potato farms that they destroy the potatoes.
Defence
Because the beetle rapidly evolves resistance to chemicals, the best defence may be biological control. A ground beetle, Lebia grandis is a predator of the eggs and larvae, and its larvae are parasitoids of the Colorado beetle's pupae.
Beauveria bassiana (Hyphomycetes) is a pathogenic fungus that infects many insects, including the Colorado beetle. It is probably the most widely used natural enemy of the Colorado beetle. There are commercial formulations that can be applied using a pesticide sprayer.
Origins
The Colorado potato beetle did not always eat potato plants. This is because potatoes came from South America, not near the beetle's original range. Before people brought potatoes to North America, the Colorado beetle ate a plant called buffalo-bur.
Images for kids
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Leptinotarsa decemlineata adult specimen
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Coleomegilla maculata preying upon Colorado beetle eggs
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A Colorado beetle larva eating a leaf of a potato plant
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East German Young Pioneers collecting beetles during the war against the potato beetle
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Statue of the Colorado potato beetle in Hédervár, Hungary: It marks the discovery of the beetle at the site in 1947 during the rapid spread of the pest in Europe throughout the 20th century.
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Native range of the potato and native and current range of the Colorado beetle
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Eggs laid on the underside of a leaf
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First-instar larva after hatching
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Early (3rd) instar stage of larvae
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Late (4th) instar stage of larva, before pupation
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Pupa
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Adult beetle after emergence
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Mating adult beetles
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See also
In Spanish: Leptinotarsa decemlineata para niños
