Colorado Potato Beetle
Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Summary 6
The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle or the potato bug, is an important pest of potato crops. It is approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its elytra. It can easily be confused with its close cousin and look-alike, the false potato beetle.
Morphology 7
Leptinotarsa decemlineata has the physical features typical of chrysomelid beetles such as 5-5-5 tarsi, an oval shape, and antennae shorter than the body. Adults can reach anywhere from 8 to 10 mm and have five bold, brown stripes along each elytron. The thorax has an intricate pattern of black spots on top of a deep orange complexion. Larvae typically have a row of black spots down the side of the abdomen, which is convex and very stout (large and plump) compared to the rest of the body. Eggs resemble footballs with an orange/yellow color. They are about 1.7 to 1.8 mm long and 0.8 mm wide. The dorsal and ventral surfaces are distinctly non-parallel and deep red in color.
Range length: 8 to 10 mm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Habitat 8
The Colorado potato beetle is found mostly in farm fields that specialize in growing agricultural crops in the family Solanaceae, such as potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, eggplants and peppers. It can also be found on non-agricultural solanaceous plants in open grassland areas.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural
Sources and Credits
- (c) Gertrud K., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/11946969@N00/3775366031
- Petra Kubíková, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/88953.jpg
- (c) Václav Hanzlík, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/13302.jpg
- (c) Ondřej Zicha, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/360.jpg
- (c) Stanislav Krejčík, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/13620.jpg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptinotarsa_decemlineata
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31401808
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31401807
