Systena blanda
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Systena blanda
| Palestriped Flea Beetle | |
|---|---|
| Binomial: | Systena blanda |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Metamorphosis: | Complete |
| Damaging stages: | Grubs on roots, adults on cotyledons and foliage |
Palestriped Flea Beetles are a pest of many food crops, and can also cause damage to ornamentals, particularly when the host plants are young.
Description
Adult beetle is yellow through brown or black with a paler stripe on each wing cover, and a red head. Like all Flea Beetles, they jump away when disturbed. Grubs are long and thin.
Symptoms and Signs
Grubs cause root damage, particularly to tubers such as potatoes or sweet potatoes. Adults cause shotholing or skeletonized leaves, particularly of young plants.
Ecology
Overwinters as an adult in debris.
Host plants
- Amaranthus
- Ambrosia
- Arachis (Peanut)
- Avena (Oat)
- Brassica
- Capsicum (Pepper)
- Chenopodium
- Convolvulus
- Cucumis
- Cucurbita
- Citrullus
- Daucus
- Fragaria (Strawberry)
- Gossypium (Cotton)
- Helianthus
- Ipomoea
- Iva (Poverty Weed)
- Lactuca (Lettuce)
- Medicago
- Nicotiana
- Phaseolus
- Pisum
- Pyrus
- Solanum
- Vitis
- Zea
Control
- Cultural controls: Suppress weed hosts, clean growing area in the autumn or winter, disking fields
- Physical removal: Vacuuming
- Barriers: Row Covers
- Pesticides: Carbaryl, Pifenthrin, Permethrin
- Organic pesticides: Rotenone, Spinosad
- Timing: Planting crops later in the season can help avoid seedling damage.