Mexican Bean Beetle

Scientific name: Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) Native range: Eastern China, Japan and Korea At Risk Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is a serious pest with a broad host range. In North America, maple, boxelder, willow, elm, horsechestnut, buckeye and birch are documented as very good hosts. Other trees such as hackberry, ash, poplar and mountain ash are considered possible hosts as well as some trees not commonly found in Minnesota. In its native range, ALB is mo

These boldly striped beetles and their voracious larvae love to feast on potato plants, skeletonizing the foliage. Often, only the leaf veins remain intact. Colorado potato beetles eagerly consume the foliage of all potato relatives including eggplant, ground cherry, pepper, tomato, and tomatillo, as well as related weed plants. The yellow-orange beetles are 1/4 long, with black stripes on the wings and black spots just behind the head. The red-orange humpbacked larvae have a row of black spots

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Healthy organic gardens are full of bugs. Gardens, and even farms, are ecosystems that maintain their own balance. Thousands of species of insects and other invertebrates make their homes in the soil and on the plants we grow. In a balanced garden ecosystem, pest species are the exception, and infestations are rare. In an organic approach to growing crops, we feed the soil with organic matter and encourage abundant and diverse soil ecology. When the soil is

Planting to attract predatory insects is one of the key tactics for pest control in an organic garden system. Insects, like plants, come in all shapes and sizes, and play many different roles in the environment as well as in the garden. As sure as some insects are pests, others are positively beneficial. Aside from performing the fundamental task of pollination, another group of insects are considered beneficial because they are predatory – they literally prey on other insects – namely pes