| So... What's a Colorado Potato Beetle? Adult Colorado potato beetles are approximately 3/8"-1/2" long with rounded bodies and yellow and black striping on their wing covers. The larvae are approximately 1/8"-1/2" in length and have a reddish coloring with two rows of black dots on each side of its body. The eggs are found in clusters of 20-40 on the undersides of plant leaves and are yellowish-orange in color. Reproduction Patterns of Colorado Potato Beetles 
In the spring, the adult Colorado potato beetle emerges from the soil where it overwintered. The beetles will start walking in search of food, and if after several days, it cannot find any suitable foods, it will take wing and fly until it finds food. Then after the female beetle has eaten from the leaves, it will lay its eggs in a cluster underneath the leaves of the host plant. The eggs will hatch in about 1-2 weeks, and the larvae will eat the foliage of the host plant. After eating for 2-3 weeks, and going through several instars, or mini-stages, the larvae will dig into the soil and pupate. In another 5-10 days, the new adults will come out of the soil ready to eat again in preparation for spending the winter in a pupate stage under the soil. Colorado Potato Beetle's Habitat The Colorado potato beetle is found throughout North America today. It was not a scourge of the potato plant until the westward movement in the United States. 
When the settlers brought potatoes into the habitat regions of this beetle, and the beetle realized what a delicacy potatoes were, it no longer fed on its regular host plants, preferring the potato instead. They have also become partial to tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and tobacco. Safer®Brand brings you a variety of effective insect control products that are gentler on the environment! Most of them proudly display the OMRI Listed® organic seal and comply for use in organic gardening! 
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