The cucumber beetle is a rectangular greenish-yellow beetle with black spots or stripes on its wing covers. The cucumber beetle is ready ¼ inch lengthy.
Cucumber beetles feed basically on individuals of the cucurbit relatives—cucumbers, melons, and squashes—and likewise asparagus, early beans, corn, eggplant, peas, potatoes, and tomatoes. They assault seedlings feeding on younger shoots and leaves. In addition they assault older vegetation consuming holes in leaves and fruit.
Cucumber beetles raise the bacillus Erwinia tracheiphila which reasons bacterial wilt in vegetation. And, cucumber beetles can unfold mosaic virus via feeding on an inflamed plant then feeding on a wholesome plant. There’s no remedy for mosaic virus or bacterial wilt.
Overwintering grownup beetles emerge from lawn particles or weeds within the spring and lay eggs within the soil with reference to vegetation. The eggs hatch and larvae feed within the roots and crowns of vegetation for two to 4 weeks then pupate. The larva of the cucumber beetle is known as the southern corn rootworm.
There are two to a few generations of cucumber beetles every 12 months.
Goal Crops: Larvae feed on roots of corn, beans and different legumes and plenty of greens particularly cucurbits (cucumbers, melons, and squash). Adults feed on beans, corn, peas, cucumbers, melons, squashes, and the flower petals of many vegetation.
Feeding Behavior and Injury: Feeding cucumber beetles depart massive, ragged, more or less oval holes in leaves and plants. As they feed, the beetles can unfold bacterial wilt and mosaic virus. Larvae feed on roots of corn steadily killing younger vegetation; older vegetation are weakened and would possibly die.
Natural Controls: A barrier of agricultural fleece will stay beetles from flying in to put eggs close to the vegetation. Cucumber peelings or squash lower in part and lined with rotenone can be utilized as traps for beetles. Diatomaceous earth can also be unfold across the base of vegetation as a barrier to egg laying; leaves can also be dusted at night time to regulate adults. Parasitic nematodes can also be implemented to soil weekly to regulate larvae. Huge infestations of adults can also be managed with pyrethrum or rotenone sprays.
Natural Keep watch over Calendar: Here’s what you’ll do seasonally to regulate cucumber beetles:
- Prior to planting: Take away crop residue from the lawn. Plant an additional early squash-family crop as a entice crop then spoil the beetles drawn to it.
- At planting time: Plant vegetation overdue to steer clear of the primary technology of beetle feeding and egg laying. Duvet seedlings or transplants with floating row covers and hand-pollinate lined squash vegetation or take away the quilt when vegetation flower. Pile deep straw mulch round vegetation to deter the motion of beetles between vegetation. Position yellow sticky traps within the lawn.
- Whilst vegetation expand: Spray kaolin clay on undersides of leaves to discourage beetles. Handpick beetles as steadily as conceivable; weigh down them or drop them in soapy water. Use a hand-held vacuum to gather beetles, then unload them in soapy water. Develop vine vegetation on trellises which make recognizing beetles more uncomplicated. Drench the soil with Heterorhabditis nematodes to kill larvae. Spray pyrethrin to kill beetles.
- After harvest: Take away all crop particles from the lawn after harvest to spoil overwintering spots for beetles. Flip the soil simply earlier than frost to reveal dormant beetles to killing chilly.
Herbal Predators: Insect predators come with really helpful nematodes, soldier beetles, and braconid, chalcid, and trichogramma wasps (wasps parasitize the eggs). Animal predators come with Baltimore orioles, bluebirds, brown thrashers, chickadees, juncos, phoebes, crimson finches, sparrows, towhees, and warblers.
Medical Identify: Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi (noticed cucumber beetle); Acalymma vittatum (striped cucumber beetle).
