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Colorado Potato Beetle larva
(John Obermeyer, Purdue University)

Common Name: Colorado Potato Beetle - larva
See also: adult | damage

Scientific Name: Chrysomelidae: Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Status: pest of some vegetable crops, particularly potato

Damaging Stage: larval

Biology: Colorado potato beetle larvae are red with two rows of black spots on each side. As they mature, they turn a salmon-pink color. They are soft-bodied, slug-like, and appear hump-backed. Adults are approximately 1/2 inch long with rounded outer wings marked with black and yellow stripes. The head is tan-orange with black markings.

Female beetles lay eggs in clusters of ten to thirty on the undersides of leaves. After the eggs hatch, the larvae stay in these groups while young but start to move through the plant leaves as they age. There is one generation per year.