Which kind of bug is this??????

Question

I'm growing some Eggplants, but very wiered kind of bugs ruining my plants.......these are blakish grey colourd and has very shiny armour kind of back.No legs but small head and two antenna. ....seems like it stuck on the leaf surface. Looks like tortoise!!

1.Name of the bug ?
2.How to kill them.

I took the photographs but it is not clear, some thing wrong with focus..........may be some one can recognise them.


http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb65/bunty_014/bug-1/bug014.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb65/bunty_014/bug-1/bug012.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb65/bunty_014/bug-1/bug009.jpg

Answer 1

I can tell you right away that those insects are not scales. Scales do not look like insects (though they are) and you would not be able to see antennae unless you have incredible eyesight.

That is also not a flea beetle, it is much too large to be one and the leaf damage is not consistent with flea beetle damage. Flea beetles strip thin lines of flesh off of the leaf's surface, your leaf has definite holes in it.

I wish you would have had clearer pictures, but from the first picture and your description I believe you have, oddly enough, tortoise beetles. I have caught a few of these and also have one in my insect collection.

Is this the insect terrorizing you?
http://cirrusimage.com/Beetles/clavate_tortoise_beetle_2_small.jpg

Then it is most definitely a tortoise beetle.

Beetles are fascinating creatures and there are incredible amounts of different species of them. I may not be completely correct, and I will never be able to identify it to species with the pictures and description, but I can at least give you my firm belief that it is most probably a tortoise beetle.

Now, how to rid ourselves of these hmm? I have included a few links as to how to manage these little buggers.

From a site:
"Most tortoise beetles feed on sweet potato, morning glory, bindweed cabbage, corn, raspberry, strawberry, milkweed, plantain, and eggplant depending on species.

The best controls are fall cleanup, adequate watering, adequate fertilization, and an all around healthy garden area. Planting after the normal beetle emergence also deters most of the beetle population."

I've checked to make sure that they do eat eggplant. A common problem with diagnosing plant pests is possibly misdiagnosing one insect for the problem rather than the other. Sometimes you will see a mass of insects on a plant with a lot of damage and automatically believe they are the cause, when they could actually be feeding on the insects that are damaging your plants. Always remember this when managing garden pests.

They don't seem to be a big pest, many articles state that often times control is not necessary. If worse comes to worse, hand picking beetles or Sevin or other contact insecticide should provide adequate control.

Also, if you use any type of a chemical compound remember to use it EXACTLY as the bottle/can/etc directs you to. It is actually illegal to use insecticide in any way except how it is marked on its package.

I'm glad you have at least taken an interest into what these insects are. I hope you have luck with your eggplants in the future. ^_^

Answer 2

I got this from
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0621395420752.html

"In general flea beetles are a major pest of eggplant, but unless their numbers are massive (think dozens or more per plant) or the plants are tiny seedlings, the damage is mostly cosmetic.

What that means is that most of the time a decent sized eggplant can tolerate the flea beetle damage and not have yield affected. Unless 1/4th of the leaf mass is eaten away I wouldn't worry about them too much.

Neem oil is a good solution as it only ends up killing what eats the leaves sprayed. Broad spectrum insecticides with knock down power such as pyrethrins also do the job, but if the plant isn't literally being eaten before your eyes the way a large infestation on a seedling happens you don't need it, you just need to stop their feeding and neem does that well without any toxicity to you, family, pets or pollinating insects."

Answer 3

If this can be a beetle, it's most often a potato beetle. They are really usual in America and feature exact darkish and light brown stripes stripes. If you already know what sort of trojan horse it's, what state or nation it's in, or some other knowledge I could also be equipped to aid extra.

Answer 4

Kindly click on the links below to confirm ( or not ) that the bug on your eggplants is similar to them. If so then it is A Flea Beetle ( A common name )

If your are positive only then read further or give thums down rating and my answer will disapear from your screen .

http://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/vegetable/images/vegetable/maggot/fleabeetle_seedling.jpg

http://bugguide.net/images/raw/ZH5RRHSRFZQR6LSRDZ4RCL4RDZZZNLXRJZYL3ZRZWLYLNLIZHH8RHHGRBLXZ1LERVL7ZHHSZSH.jpg

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=75504&rendTypeId=4


Hosts: Watermelons, pumpkins, peas, beans, eggplants, sweet potatoes, beets, spinach, and potatoes.

Description: "Flea beetle" is a generic name applied to many species of small jumping beetles commonly seen early in the gardening season. Some species are general feeders while others have a more restricted host range.

All flea beetle life stages are completed underground.

Only the adults are commonly seen by gardeners and vegetable producers.

Flea beetles may be somewhat elongate to oval in shape, and vary in color, pattern, and size.

For instance, potato flea beetles (Epitrix cucumeris) tend to be more oval, blackish, and about 1/16 inch long.

Striped flea beetles (Phyllotreta striolata) are more elongate and dark with yellowish crooked stripes, and measure about 1/12 inch long.

Spinach flea beetles (Disonycha xanthomelaena) are both oval and elongate. They have a black head, antennae and legs. The collar behind the head is yellow to yellowish-orange. Wing covers have blackish-blue luster. They approach 1/5 inch in body length.

With most species of flea beetle, the adults overwinter underground or beneath plant debris.

During April and May, they become active, mate, and deposit eggs.

Egg laying varies depending upon species.

Some deposit individual eggs while others deposit them in clusters.

Egg sites may be in soil, on leaves, on leaf petioles, or within holes chewed into stems.

Eggs typically hatch in 10 days. Larval and pupal development take place during the summer. "New" adults emerge and feed during late summer and fall before seeking overwintering sites.

Larvae feeding on underground portions of plants may result in decreased plant vigor.

In some instances, crops produced underground may be scarred because of larval feeding activities.

Large populations of feeding adults can devastate plantings, especially if the planting is in the seedling stage. Small circular gouges taken mainly from bottom leaf surfaces cause plants to take on a peppered or shotholed appearance.

Corn flea beetles feed between veins on upper leaf surfaces, resulting in a silvery and streaked appearance.

Flea beetles also transmit Stewart's Bacterial Wilt to corn.

Recommendations:

Cultural practices used to reduce flea beetle populations include:

1 ) Weed control in and around planting sites to deprive larvae of food sources needed for successful development.
Removal of old crop debris and other surface trash to deprive overwintering beetles protective cover.
2 )The use of later planting dates when warmer temperatures assist plants in outgrowing or overcoming flea beetles feeding damage.
3 )The rotation or isolation of current-year plantings from those of the previous year.
4 )Insecticides may be required to regulate flea beetle population levels. Planting-time treatments may help to eliminate life stages located in the soil.
5 ) Foliar treatments with insecticides can lower populations of foraging adults to acceptable levels.

Chose insecticide / s with the help of an expert in the field and not on line.

Answer 5

scale