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Help...little green beetle eating my spuds

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  • 03-07-2010 10:56am
    #1
    mardi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭


    I'm hoping someone can help with with this one.......a little dark green shiny beetle is eating all the leaves of my potatoes. There's hardly any leaf left on some of them. It's my first time sowing spuds and it was all going well till I noticed these little fellas this morning........
    DSCF5856.JPG

    What can I do to get rid of them? There's literally hundreds of them all over the place. Are they doing any real harm to the potatoes?

    Thanks,

    Mardi


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    #2
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    Has come up before but with no help.

    It looks like a Green Leaf Beetle Cryptocephalus species.

    No idea waht to suggest. Regarding damage to potatoes. if the potatos are young then they may recover a little, but most potatoes ahve near enough finished growing leafs and they are growing the tubers (the spuds underground). If there are no leafs above, this will translate into no tubers below


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    #3
    mardi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭mardi


    Thanks Mothman. I'm trying to be as eco friendly as possible so haven't sprayed anything. They're having a field day down there. There's always something to combat....if it's not them it's green fly...or slugs or some other little creatures! Hopefully I'll have something to harvest at the end! :)


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    #4
    bmaxi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,859 ✭✭✭bmaxi


    I had these on my potatoes a few years back, only for one year and haven't seen them since. I've no idea what they're called but I didn't notice any damage to the spuds.


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    #5
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,050 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    Don't people sometimes cut back the foliage at this time of year anyway? I don't know anything about growing spuds but I seem to recall reading that somewhere.


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    #6
    Nabber
    Registered Users Posts: 2,855 ✭✭✭Nabber


    They lay eggs on the underside of leaves. You might wanna kill these. Groups of little yellow eggs.


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    #7
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    Nabber wrote: »
    They lay eggs on the underside of leaves. You might wanna kill these. Groups of little yellow eggs.
    Ladybirds also lay little groups of yellow eggs....although they may well be finished laying by now.
    Don't people sometimes cut back the foliage at this time of year anyway?
    Foliage may be cut back if blight is in.

    Depends on what variety and when they were planted as to what tubers are grown already and so what impact they will have on yield.

    bmaxi backups my own thoughts thta you seem to have an infestation this year but it may not be an issue next year.

    Nature has a balance with a lot of things between predator and prey. These beetles are bound to have a parasite which will take care of the numbers for next year.


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    #8
    mardi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14 ✭mardi


    Thanks guys, when the wind and rain came yesterday there was a mass exodus of the little fellas so hopefully they won't be back. :)


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    #9
    Mothman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,498 ✭✭✭Mothman


    I have them!
    But they're doing a great job on the docks! :)


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