Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009
Identifying cucumber beetles versus lady bugs
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closeQ: Something is eating holes in the leaves of my squash. Is it the yellow lady bugs I see on the plants?
—Daniel Cocagne, San Luis Obispo
A: What you found on your squash plants are probably cucumber beetles. They do resemble yellow lady bugs but are actually not closely related to the helpful aphid-eating lady bug (symbol of good luck in many countries.)
We usually think of lady bugs or lady birds (‘convergent lady beetles’ to bug people) as red, but they do exist in shades of yellow and orange, so color is not the deciding factor in identifying your bug. If you compare the lady bug with a cucumber beetle, you’ll see that the lady bug is somewhat rounder with short antennae. Cucumber beetles are more ovoid and have longer antennae. There is also a striped species.
Adults eat holes in leaves of many plants and consume shoots and blossoms, as well as munching away at soft fruits. Cucumber beetles may also spread cucumber mosaic virus in plants of the cucurbit family. Their whitish larvae live in the soil, feeding on plant roots. They are usually not a problem in home gardens, though corn may sometimes be damaged.
Management of cucumber beetles can be difficult. Most older plants can tolerate some damage, so gardeners sometimes cover young plants with protective cloth and remove it as the plants get large enough to tolerate loss of leaf surface. If your garden is small, hand picking may keep them under control. Damage to fruit is mainly aesthetic, excepting possible virus transmission.
If you can’t eliminate these beetles entirely, and avoid pesticide use, you can at least congratulate yourself that by living with a few blemishes on your crop you are also protecting beneficial insect populations!
More info is available at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS.
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