I just discovered a black beetle type bug on my tomato leaves. The have attacked my cherry tomatoes and none other. I noticed them on dandelions before but not in my garden. What can they be and how can I get rid of them? I live in southern Oregon if that is of help. Thanks Anna
Do you have a picture ?
is the beetle about 2mm in length? may Jump away very fast? Skelentonises the leaves? If so, it's a flea beetle. Infested my tomatoes too. Best seems to be cutting away all the lower leaves and those not bearing flowers. I spend time squashig them daily. Not sure if I will win the battle.
Some book says they come out in hot dry weater.
No it doesn't jump. It is about a half inch long, has wings that don't quite cover the lower end of it's body. It's head is a separate segment like an ant. It can fly when disturbed. They leave little sand size droppings on the leaf where they are eating. The nursery gave me some spray made from chrysanthemums that kills them. I am not getting a picture clear enough to post. Sorry Anna "Not the Karl Orff" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.va.shawcable.net... | In article , | "Anna" wrote: | | > I just discovered a black beetle type bug on my tomato leaves. The have | > attacked my cherry tomatoes and none other. I noticed them on dandelions | > before but not in my garden. What can they be and how can I get rid of | > them? | > I live in southern Oregon if that is of help. | | is the beetle about 2mm in length? may Jump away very fast? | Skelentonises the leaves? If so, it's a flea beetle. Infested my | tomatoes too. Best seems to be cutting away all the lower leaves and | those not bearing flowers. I spend time squashig them daily. Not sure | if I will win the battle. | | Some book says they come out in hot dry weater. | |
I have posted a couple of pictures on the web of these bugs.
Perhaps you have cadelles?
Close, but that doesn't look quite the same as the pictures Anna posted. cadelles are about 1/3 inch long. Anna, are your bugs that big? Cadelle larvae are a pest of grain and similar food products. I admit, I have no idea what the adult beetles eat.
Steve
They are about 1/3 to 1/2 inch long and have wings. When they fly, it looks more like fluttering rather than flying like other flying insects. They don't hop. They hang onto the plant rather strongly. Shaking the plant doesn't cause them to turn loose. They are black all over with no other coloring. Hard and shiny. As I said they are on the on tomato plant. Anna
| >
| | Close, but that doesn't look quite the same as the pictures Anna | posted. cadelles are about 1/3 inch long. Anna, are your bugs that big? | Cadelle larvae are a pest of grain and similar food products. I | admit, I have no idea what the adult beetles eat. | | Steve |
| >
| | Close, but that doesn't look quite the same as the pictures Anna | posted. cadelles are about 1/3 inch long. Anna, are your bugs that big? | Cadelle larvae are a pest of grain and similar food products. I | admit, I have no idea what the adult beetles eat. | | Steve |
Anna's images weren/t very clear, but the cadellas were the closest match I could find.
What kind of damage are they doing to the tomatoes. Several of the beetles I found the Rodel insect book were beneficial, ie ate other insects.
The have
Judging from the picture, my guess is click beetles. The beetles in your picture have the right shape and color for click beetles. The key for me is the way the head angles from the thorax. Click beetles can fly, but in particular they sort of jump when disturbed, with a clicking sound (hence the name). I've never known them to particularly attracted to tomatoes, but they may be in search of moisture.
Since these are eating your tomatoes, a stomach poison, such as Rotenone, would be a good way to kill them. However, you probably don't want to be spraying poisons on your tomatoes, although Rotenone is comparatively benign.
Guy Bradley Chesterfield MO zone 6
On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 22:52:00 -0700, "Anna" wrote in rec.gardens.edible:
Possibly Tortoise Beetles. They eat leaves. Some sketches at
They were feeding on just one tomato plant which was strange as I have 36 plants in all. The were nibbling on the leaves and blossoms. Didn't bother the fruit at all. I still see a few around after spraying once. They are no longer on the tomato plant. Anna
| | What kind of damage are they doing to the tomatoes. Several of the | beetles I found the Rodel insect book were beneficial, ie ate other | insects. | | -- | Susan N. | | There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.
Other than flea beetles, the only beetles I can think of that would feed on tomato *leaves* are various blister beetles and potato beetles. We can rule out one of the potato beetles because they are obviously colored in yellows and rust or brown.
Blister beetle come in various sizes and colors. They give the appearance of long 'necks' and often the wing covers (elytra) do not completely cover the abdomen.
| >They were feeding on just one tomato plant which was strange as I have 36 | >plants in all. The were nibbling on the leaves and blossoms. Didn't bother | >the fruit at all. | >I still see a few around after spraying once. They are no longer on the | >tomato plant. | | Other than flea beetles, the only beetles I can think of that would feed on | tomato *leaves* are various blister beetles and potato beetles. We can rule | out one of the potato beetles because they are obviously colored in yellows | and rust or brown. | | Blister beetle come in various sizes and colors. They give the appearance | of long 'necks' and often the wing covers (elytra) do not completely cover the | abdomen. | | -- | Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast) | | Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. | (attributed to Don Marti) | This could very well be what it is, although the ones that I saw were all very shiny black. I found a picture that looks just like it except for the color.
It is the blister beetle. Thanks for all of the help. I found a exact match with picture and information.
Hi Anna, I'd vote for the blister beetle as well, they come in all colors as well.
susan
Anna wrote:
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