Topic: Flea beetle?

[westsussexlottie]

Do flea beetles eat the leaves of maincrop potatoes (pink fir apple)? I thought they only liked radishes and salad leaves?

SOmething has munched lots of tiny and big holes in our potatoes and a small striped yellow jumpy thing is the only bug evident.

I assume the cure is Derris or Sticky card?

[kenkew]

You come close to describing a Colorado beetle. Do you have a pic?

[kenkew]

This is the Colorado adult spotted on my friends lottie last year. The Colorado larva look a bit like a ladybird larva but aremuch redder. I have a pic of one but it's not very good quality.

[kenkew]

Colorado larva. Have a look out for these around ALL your veg, but especially potato plants.

[westsussexlottie]

I don't think it is colorado beetle - I think what I have are much smaller (smaller than a 2 spot ladybird). I will try to take a picture.

[Doris_Pinks]

One patch of my potato leaves got munched the same way you described, I carefully dug around in the soil, and found the culprits..........SLUGS! >:(

[William O]

There is something called a "potato flea beetle"


And this is the damage it does



You'll find a factsheet over here

http://cru84.cahe.wsu.edu/cgi-bin/pubs/EB1198E.html

Happy hunting

[westsussexlottie]

The damage is as you show William, but the beetle I have is definitely yellow and black narrow striped from head to "tail" end.
It is too small (thankfully) to be a colorado though

[Lizard Man]

Maybe a bee beetle?!

[Whitty]

Do you have any peas or beans growing near your potatoes? Pea and bean weevils are yellow and black/brown striped and are about the size you describe.

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=environment:species:invertebrate&id=352

[westsussexlottie]

Not this one either.
Now I go to take a photo I can't find any of them at all.... weird.
I will keep an eye out and try to get a photo.