Couple of questions. (bug ID and possible disease)

s1rGr1nG0 Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:44 pm

Checked the garden this morning before work and saw this little guy crawling around on one of our bush bean plants. Is it a variant of lady bug? Is it a good guy?

EDIT: A quick google search shows this to be a Cucumber Beetle. It is considered a pest. We have 2-3 cucumber plants and 1 squash now but none of them have any fruit on them. I will txt my wife and have her deal with the little pest now.

Couple of questions. (bug ID and possible disease) IMG_0099_zps718461ae

Couple of questions. (bug ID and possible disease) IMG_0099_zps718461ae

Also, I noticed our squash plant has a couple leaves that are turning grey/white. There is another leaf that it seems to be starting on. It begins along the veins and then spreads to the whole leaf. I tried to see if I could rub it off but it seems to be "inside" the leaf and not on the surface. What is it?

Couple of questions. (bug ID and possible disease) IMG_0097_zps260c1de3

Couple of questions. (bug ID and possible disease) IMG_0097_zps260c1de3

**donnainzone5** Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:49 pm

I think it's a bad guy, but someone more knowledgeable is sure to chime in with the correct information.

s1rGr1nG0 Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:53 pm

Thanks Donna!
Yeah, I edited my original post to include my google search results. I just sent the wife on a hunting mission to the garden while Im at work! Very Happy

**sanderson** Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:22 pm

For photos:

https://www.google.com/search?q=texas+cucumber+beetle&client=firefox-a&hs=yzs&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6apuUoDJI8bKiwL89YDABQ&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=630

s1rGr1nG0 Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:26 pm

sanderson wrote:For photos:

https://www.google.com/search?q=texas+cucumber+beetle&client=firefox-a&hs=yzs&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6apuUoDJI8bKiwL89YDABQ&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=630

Yup! I did the same thing. That's how I found the info I did.
I also looked up squash leaf color and I'm beginning to wonder if the plants are in fact healthy and the leaf color change is natural. Apparently some squash will have silvery leaves. As I mentioned before our leaves don't have anything on the surface. There is now powdery mildew or fungus growing on them. It appears that the actual color of the leaves are changing and I'm leaning toward our squash being of a variety that does this. They seem healthy otherwise.

Marc Iverson Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:09 pm

Cucumber beetles are good at making a quick escape. Often they simply drop off the leaf or stem and then hide in the lower part of the plant or run around in the soil if you get near. A plate held underneath can help catch them. Otherwise I've found little luck in snatching them by hand and have just had to spray from a distance unless I'm going to lose them entirely.

They spread disease almost instantly, eat a lot of the vital parts of flowers, and multiply quickly, so they're serious business that demands immediate attention. They killed something like 20 out of the two dozen cucumber plants I got this year.

s1rGr1nG0 Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:21 pm

Great! Thanks for the info Marc. I will search leaf by leaf until I find it. I know the name is cucumber or squash beetle but it was running around on our bush beans. Do they eat beans as well?

**camprn** Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:21 pm

I have had good luck with bugguide.net for insect ID.Cucumber beetle, either striped or spotted are vectores for multiple plant diseases. Also, my dustbuster came in handy for collecting cucumber beetles.

Marc Iverson Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:07 pm

s1rGr1nG0 wrote:Great! Thanks for the info Marc. I will search leaf by leaf until I find it. I know the name is cucumber or squash beetle but it was running around on our bush beans. Do they eat beans as well?

I don't know, but I found two on my beans in another garden location, and it was coincident with some disease and holes in my beans that I had never seen before. I think I may have killed the only two that were there, because both disease and holes abruptly stopped after their timely demise.

That's not enough to prove anything, just anecdote. Just saying I wouldn't be surprised.

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