Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T09:24:07.876Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

FLEA BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) ATTACKING RAPE CROPS IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIE PROVINCES1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

L. Burgess
L. Burgess
Affiliation:
Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Adults of five species of flea beetles were found attacking rape crops (Brassica napus L. and Brassica campestris L.) in the Canadian prairie provinces from 1971 to 1974. Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze) was the most abundant and serious pest, followed in order by Psylliodes punctulata Melsh. and Phyllotreta striolata (F.) (= vittata (F.)), while Phyllotreta albionica (Lec.) and Phyllotreta robusta Lec. were present only occasionally. The four Phyllotreta species confined their feeding largely to cruciferous plants, but Psyl. punctulata had a broader host range. All of the five species overwintered as adults, usually in leaf litter or turf beneath hedges, poplar groves, or fencerows, or sometimes in the soil in fields, and all became active with the arrival of warm sunny weather in the spring, with Psyl. punctulata usually being the first to appear. All appeared to have but one generation per year, with mating and egg laying occurring in the spring, the larvae inhabiting the soil and feeding on host-plant roots, and the new generation of adults emerging from pupae in the soil in late July and in August. The overwintered adults usually died in late June or early July, so there was a period in July when adult flea beetles were scarce. The most serious damage to rape crops by flea beetles was caused by overwintered adults attacking seedling crops in the spring; movement of these beetles into crops took the form of a creeping infestation moving from plant to plant into the field from nearby volunteer rape of cruciferous weed feeding grounds, or a more rapid and even infestation of a whole field with flight probably being the major method of movement. Flea beetles fed most actively when the weather was sunny, warm, and dry; cool damp weather reduced the intensity of attack and aided plant growth. Shade, such as exists in a healthy stand of rape beyond the pre-bloom stage, also inhibited attack. Occasionally, late-maturing rape crops were damaged in late summer by new generation adult flea beetles, particularly P. cruciferae, feeding on the green epidermis of the stems, leaves, and pods.

A field key for separating the five flea beetle species attacking rape crops in the Canadian prairie provinces is given.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 109 , Issue 1 , January 1977 , pp. 21 - 32
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beirne, B. P. 1971. Pest insects of annual crop plants in Canada. Part III. Coleoptera, pp. 71–124. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 78.Google Scholar
Blatchley, W. S. 1910. An illustrated descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera or beetles (exclusive of the Rhynchophora) known to occur in Indiana. The Nature Publishing Co., Indianapolis.Google Scholar
Bonnemaison, L. 1965. Insect pests of crucifers and their control. A. Rev. Ent. 10: 233–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, W. J. 1967. Notes on the extralimital distribution of some species of Coleoptera. Can. Ent. 99: 85–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, L. and Wiens, J. E.. 1976. Maintaining a colony of the striped flea beetle, Phyllotreta striolata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in the greenhouse. Can. Ent. 108: 53–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chittenden, F. H. 1923. Notes on the distribution and habits of North American Phyllotreta (Coleop.). Proc. ent. Soc. Wash. 25: 131–139.Google Scholar
Chittenden, F. H. 1927. The species of Phyllotreta north of Mexico. Entomologica am. (n.s.) 8: 1–63.Google Scholar
Dugas, A. L. 1938. The striped flea beetle. Bull. La agric. Exp. Stn 298: 25–27.Google Scholar
Feeny, P. et al. 1970. Flea beetles and mustard oils: host plant specificity of Phyllotreta cruciferae and P. striolata adults (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 63: 832–841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, A. 1913. Flea-beetles and their control. Circ. Can. Dep. Agric. Div. Ent. 2.Google Scholar
Harukawa, C. and Tokunaga, M.. 1938. Studies on the life history and bionomics of Phyllotreta vittata Fabricius. I. Life history of Phyllotreta vittata Fabricius. Mem. Coll. Agric. Kyoto imp. Univ. 44 (ent. Ser. 5). 48 pp.Google Scholar
Heikertinger, F. and Csiki, E.. 1940. Chrysomelidae, Halticinae. Partes 166 et 169, 635 pp. In Schenkling, S. (Ed.), Coleoptm Cat. Vol. 25. W. Junk, Berlin.Google Scholar
Horn, G. H. 1889. A synopsis of the Halticinae of boreal America. Trans. Am. ent. Soc. 16: 163–320.Google Scholar
Jones, F. G. W. and Jones, M. G.. 1964. Pests of field crops. Edward Arnold Ltd., London.Google Scholar
Jourdheuil, P. 1963. Sous-famille des Halticinae, pp. 762–854. In Balachowsky, A. S. et al. , Entomologie appliquée à l'agriculture. Tome 1, Vol. 2, Coléoptères. Masson et Cie., Paris.Google Scholar
Leng, C. W. 1920. Catalogue of the Coleoptera of America, north of Mexico. John D. Sherman, Jr., Mount Vernon, N.Y.Google Scholar
Milliron, H. E. 1953. A European flea beetle injuring crucifers in North America. J. econ. Ent. 46: 179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newton, H. C. F. 1928. The biology of flea beetles (Phyllotreta) attacking cultivated Cruciferae. J. S.-east. agric. Coll. Wye 25: 90–115.Google Scholar
Parker, W. B. 1910. Some insects injurious to truck crops. The life history and control of the hop flea-beetle. (Psylliodes punctulata Melsh.) Bull. U.S. Dep. Agric. Bur. Ent. 82: 33–58.Google Scholar
Shimer, H. 1869. The wavy-striped flea-beetle. Am. Nat. 2: 514–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tahvanainen, J. O. 1971. Population biology of crucifer feeding flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell Univ. 106 pp. Univ. Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Mich.Google Scholar
Westdal, P. H. 1950. The life history and behavior of the flea beetle Phyllotreta pusilla Horn in Manitoba. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Manitoba. 55 pp.Google Scholar
Westdal, P. H. and Romanow, W.. 1972. Observations on the biology of the flea beetle Phyllotreta cruciferae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Manitoba Ent. 6: 35–45.Google Scholar