One of the even insect pesterer see in my front - yard garden this summer was the flea beetle ( Order : Coleoptera , Family : Chrysomelida ) . The common name refers to a large number of coinage of very small leaf beetle that rise like flea when disturbed . big flea beetlesrange in size from 1/16 inch to 1/8 in long , have large hind legs for jumping , and sport a all-inclusive variety of colorations , from dark brownness to metal shade with either solid colors or stripes calculate on the species .
Known for its wolfish appetite , this tiny beetle seems to be able-bodied to eat its own body weight in foliage a hundred times over . A signboard of flea beetles in your garden is clusters of pin - sized golf hole — aka shot holes — across across the DoI of the leaf , as if created by lilliputian shotgun pellets . If you ’ve meet the telling shot holes in the farewell of vegetable crops like eggplant or tater , you might be dealing with flea beetles in your garden .
Adults typically winter in the solid ground and get along out in mid - bounce to bung and lie eggs near the pedestal of their host plant . The orchis incubate after a week or so and the small , wanton - colored , worm - like larva emerge underground . Flea beetle larva provender on nearby theme systems for several weeks but typically do not cause much harm to industrial plant , with the exclusion of the tuber flea mallet , which can damage develop potato . When the grownup flea beetles come out , they will target the vegetation of their favorite plant . Many flea beetle metal money do n’t bother garden crop , but the ones that do will seek out nightshade ( eggplant , Solanum tuberosum , and tomato ) or brassicas ( cabbage , broccoli , Brussels spud ) .
In my garden , the mad apple felt the brunt of the flea beetle attack . Luckily , damage to give plants by adult flea beetle plantings is minimal unless there happens to be an remarkably large infestation . Flea beetles can also for sure make eatable greens much less appealing but their feeding will not typically kill the plant . New seedling being attack by flea mallet is another story all together . Because young plants have so few leaves , the beetles can severely damage or kill young plant .
There are several environmentally friendly control to deter or limit flea - mallet hurt in your garden . To completely extinguish alimentation on seedling consider using floating dustup back for vulnerable crops until the plants age and are better able to handle flea - beetle damage . Diatomaceous earth pulverisation can be also sprinkled on and around effect plant life to help ascendance established flea - mallet populations . Finally , downfall tilling is a great preemptive scheme that will help expose overwintering adult and lower their selection rate for the next year ’s growing time of year .
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