Good bug or bad bug on potato

Nicola 6/29/2021, 10:21 pm

All I know is it’s really strange looking, and it is NOT a striped Colorado potato beetle. That’s all I found online when I tried to search - apparently there is only one type of bug that likes to go onto potato plants, or so it seems.

Nicola 6/29/2021, 10:24 pm

OhioGardener 6/29/2021, 11:05 pm

Was anything sprayed on those larva, or is that just the way you found them?

**Scorpio Rising** 6/29/2021, 11:28 pm

Looks like an instar form or some early baby bug….I have never seen these. We need Beetles! I will look around—what time of day? Are they doing damage?

Nicola 6/30/2021, 1:39 pm

OhioGardener wrote:Was anything sprayed on those larva, or is that just the way you found them?

No, I haven’t sprayed anything on my potatoes. That’s just how it looked. And I only saw the one, ‘cause we were about to leave to go shopping. (With the heat wave, I wasn’t about to stay outside long enough to see if there were others.)

Nicola 6/30/2021, 2:14 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:Looks like an instar form or some early baby bug….I have never seen these. We need Beetles! I will look around—what time of day? Are they doing damage?

Yes, I was thinking how ladybugs look alligator-like before the familiar beetle form. It was just before I posted (so maybe 7ish pm.) No, I haven’t noticed any damage - just the unrelated “My big storage bin/planter needs a lot more soil, Mel’s Mix, grass clippings, whatever - to grow a lot of potatoes- than I realized!
Btw, have I missed something about loss of beetle populations?

**Scorpio Rising** 7/2/2021, 12:30 am

If no damage, I’d watchfully wait and see.

**sanderson** 7/14/2021, 5:50 pm

Mexican lac scale?

**Scorpio Rising** 7/14/2021, 9:12 pm

Nicola wrote:
Scorpio Rising wrote:Looks like an instar form or some early baby bug….I have never seen these. We need Beetles! I will look around—what time of day? Are they doing damage?
Yes, I was thinking how ladybugs look alligator-like before the familiar beetle form. It was just before I posted (so maybe 7ish pm.) No, I haven’t noticed any damage - just the unrelated “My big storage bin/planter needs a lot more soil, Mel’s Mix, grass clippings, whatever - to grow a lot of potatoes- than I realized!
Btw, have I missed something about loss of beetle populations?

Lol, no, she is a member, good bug identifier!

Cherbear 8/29/2021, 1:01 pm

Tortoise beetle. Plagiometriona clavata i dont know how severe they are.

Cherbear 8/29/2021, 1:03 pm

So not a good bug...but u don't think they are a significant enough pest to worry about Apparently they do live on tomatoes and their relatives.

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Good bug or bad bug on potato

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