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in : Problems: Veg & herbs
Holes in leaves and tiny elongated eggs left by 8mm-long green beetles with purple stripes.
Purple-striped green beetles, 8mm long, congregate among the leaves, which they feed on. The beetles lay elongated eggs beneath the leaves from September and continue to do so on warm days right through winter. These hatch after a couple of weeks and the larvae feed on the plants for about three weeks before entering the soil to pupate. Two weeks later the adults emerge and continue munching through the leaves and laying their eggs.
Pick off the adult beetles and larvae by hand and destroy.
Spray with an insecticide - thiocloprid or imidacloprid - between late summer and spring. Avoid using insecticide when the plants are in flower as bees may also be killed.
kaycurtis 24/11/2011 at 15:27
never ending battle all these bugs, need more of the good guys
ILOVEBEES 24/11/2011 at 15:29
Before using thiacloprid, imidacloprid, acetamocloprid or any other neonicotinoid pesticide, I recommed visiting the Buglife website, to read their report summarising independent research on neonicotinoids. They kill bees & other non-target insects - eg. butterflies etc. Miniscule amounts impair the ability of insect to function resulting inevitably in death. Also, seek out the fact sheets from the US environment agency -you may get a shock! We used to manage without them & can now.
