General Information

Common name: Colorado potato beetle
Scientific name: Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae

Synonym: Colorado beetle

Host plants

Potato, eggplant and other solanaceous crops and weeds (Knupper, 2003)

Distribution

Europe, USA, Asia, Africa and South America

Damage

Adults and larvae feed on leaves and often consume the entire leaves starting with the young and soft ones. They eat potato tubers as well. Normally, black and sticky excrement are found on the stem and leaves (Knupper, 2003).

Description

Eggs are oval and bright-orange and are laid in clusters of 10-40. These are glued on the surface (usually underneath) the leaves. Eggs hatch in about 4-5 days.

The larva is sluglike, small, and reddish with shining-black head and feet. As it grows, its body color changes to yellowish-red or orange. It undergoes five molts and during each molt, it stops feeding. At the end of the larval period, the larva drops from the plant and burrows into the soil to pupate.

A pupa is like a spherical cell which is yellowish in color. Pupation lasts from 5-10 days.

An adult beetle is about 1.0 cm long and 0.9 cm wide. It is ovate, convex, and hard-bodied. It is yellowish with 10 black stripes on its wing covers. The adult hibernates during the cold weather. It falls into the ground and burrows 5-20 cm deep into the soil. Its emergence is timely when the plants start to grow.