weird bug -- FOUR LINED PLANT BUG

sheeshshe · Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:29 pm

Looked on a few bug sites but not finding it. On my potato plants last night was a weird beetle that was fluorescent green and black stripes. sort of like the cucumber beetles that we get (brown and orange or whatnot) but instead it was fluorescent green and black stripes. and it was seeming to eat up my plants quite a bit. it was small like the cucumber beetle. I've just never seen these before! any idea what it is?

JONA878 · Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:35 pm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorado_potato_beetle.jpg

Was it this one Sheila.

DoubleDogFarm · Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:37 pm

Never mind looks like Jona answered.

Eric

sheeshshe · Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:11 pm

nope. it wasn't that. it was fluorescent green. WHACKY!

the other weird thing is that the only the the cucumber beetles DO like are my potato plants.! thats it! not squash or cucumbers or melons. just potatoes. so weird!

BrianIllinois · Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:12 pm

It's Japanese beetle time. Did it look like this:

https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05601.html

DoubleDogFarm · Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:29 pm

I had Japanese beetle or Green June beetle before I deleted.

Eric

sheeshshe · Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:45 pm

I know the japs well. not that, much smaller. about the size of the cucumber beetles. and it ate the leaves weird. it took bites here and there not not through the entire leaf, just the surface like. so the leaves are all dotted looking.

applestar · Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:04 pm

How about four-lined plant bug? I'm having teerrible time with them on mint, but they are also on other plants including potatoes. They leave perfectly round tiny black spots kind of like shot gun except they are not holes like flea beetle damage.

sheeshshe · Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:12 pm

DING DING DING!!!!! YES! that is it!! thank you thank you!

DoubleDogFarm · Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:19 am

Ugh, They are black with green stripes. Not green with black stripes.

Anyway, glade you figured it out.

Eric

sheeshshe · Wed Jul 06, 2011 7:45 am

Perhaps my bug describing talents are no good

I was juggling kids at the time, so its amazing I even remembered what it looked like at all. ROFL!

applestar · Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:10 am

I was helping DD with her ant-watching experiment.
She scattered cracker crumbs and sugar near ant hills to see what they would do, so I dropped freshly squashed 4-lined plant bug on the ground too. The ants swarmed over the bug more than crackers or sugar.

sheeshshe · Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:14 am

mmmmmmmmmmmm bug juice LOL!

I have never seen these bugs before. first time for everything I suppose!

applestar · Mon May 07, 2012 7:48 am

They are back

I described my strategy against them here:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=256117