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This is the second tortoise beetle I have found on a tomato plant


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Subject: Mealybug? Eggplant leaf

6sparkpug6 wrote:Hi-

So a year later, I finally found out what this bug is (not the white one but the one in the second batch of pictures). Turns out that it is was clavate tortoise beetle larva and it is now a clavate tortoise beetle, attached below.

I just wanted to let everyone know in case someone has the same problem. Thank you for your help apple

Tortoise beetles are here



...also found on tomatillos...

Try some Surround. I put this on EP, to keep flea beetles off, and also spray it on tomatoes, and have never seen these things. And it stays on fairly well, even with rain, though the huge rainfall I got today probably washed a lot off. And the underside doesn't wash off as quickly - that is where I make sure I spray well, as that is where a lot of bugs congregate. I also spray some KHCO3 with it, as a prophylactic, for fungi.

Fantastic! Thanks Pepperhead212 — I even got the KHCO3 over the winter when the price dropped based on your recommendation so I just have to get it done — hopefully Tomorrow!

I might wait until Mon. to spray, Apple, as we might get some rain later tomorrow.

I also stocked up on that KHCO3 in the winter. And I got 25 lbs of Surround several years ago, and that lasts a LONG time, even spraying it as much as I do. I keep a dedicated sprayer with just those, and a spreader sticker in it. I set a very fine strainer on top, and wash the surround, and anything else I am adding at the time through the strainer, in case there are any particles, that could clog the strainer, and it washes through easily.

Early on, I use Actinovate with it, and later use the KHCO3, since it is more of a cure, compared to the Actinovate; though either is good, the KHCO3 is cheaper, and later in the season I have a lot more to spray!

Permethrin is not the worst poison you could use in your garden. It is of low toxicity to humans. But:

Class and Uses: Permethin is a synthetic pyrethroid. Pyrethrins are derived from crysanthemums, but the synthetic ones are much more concentrated and toxic. It is a broad spectrum insecticide that has been sprayed widely in mosquito abatement programs and used for lice, ticks, and scabies and on a variety of crops. It is a neurotoxin, which acts on the nervous system of insects and causes muscles to spasm, culminating in paralysis and death

Animal toxicity: Permethrin is highly toxic to both freshwater and estuarine aquatic organisms. Most agricultural, public health, and down-the-drain scenarios modeled resulted in exceedances in the acute risk quotient (RQ) for freshwater and estuarine fish, invertebrates, and sediment organisms. It is also extremely toxic to honeybees, as well as other beneficial insects. . Severe losses may be expected if bees are present at treatment time, or within a day thereafter . Permethrin is also toxic to wildlife . It should not be applied, or allowed to drift, to crops or weeds in which active foraging takes place.

It is less toxic to mammals than insects and aquatic organisms, but cats are especially sensitive to it and it is dangerously toxic to them.
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