in the dirt, pests
More pests….cucumber beetles
Sep
So, I thought we had all these great beneficials on the plot, but today when I was harvesting chard, I noticed a number of these black spotted yellow beetles. Upon closer investigation, it appeared they were actually eating holes in the leaves. And, they seemed to be everywhere! Sadly, I learned these are cucumber beetles, which normally feed on cucurbits (cukes, squash, melons). We do not have any of those, so it appears to be going after our chard and maybe our beets too. Not good. They are doing serious damage to our chard and they are also responsible for spreading bacteria, which makes the leaves look terrible and will eventually kill the entire plant. I removed several of the infected leaves and tried to squash the bugs that I saw while doing this. I hope the crop can recover since it tends to be a fall market staple that we rely on having each week. Plus, we love to eat it too. Here are a few pics of the damage.
More resources about this and how to prevent them:
- http://www.saferbrand.com/advice/insect-library/garden-insects/all-about-cucumber-beetles
- http://organicgardening.about.com/od/pestcontrol/p/cucumberbeetle.htm
- http://knox.osu.edu/news/timely-tips-for-backyard-gardeners-30
Those buggers were all over my garden this summer. I had cucumber and summer squash. I swear I smooshed hundreds of them…..
we were under the impression they were good guys, but not any more! they are getting squished when i see them now.
Ahhh and I have been saving the little buggers all year and thought they were cute. Nice post!
Thanks, Alex. I will share this with the neofarmers group since I think we gave the impression these bugs were okay and they are definitely not.