This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Colorado beetle warning issued
18/04/2002
Importers, growers, gardeners, traders and consumers were advised today to be on the look-out for the Colorado beetle, which can seriously damage potato crops.
Colorado beetles are not indigenous to Scotland but have entered the country in the past during spring and summer on imported goods such as leafy vegetables, potatoes, fruit, grain, seeds and timber. People should check their cars and luggage when returning from abroad. A single female escaping detection could establish a breeding colony.
The adult beetle is very distinctive measuring about 10mm in length, resembling a large ladybird in shape with 10 black stripes running down a yellowish back.
Anyone who thinks they may have found a Colorado beetle - alive or dead - should put it in a sealed container and take it to the nearest police station or local Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department Area Office together with any packaging material in which it is found.
The Colorado beetle ( Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is a notifiable quarantine pest under the Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993. It is also one of the two harmful organisms for which the UK has been designated a protected zone under the EC Single Market arrangements for plant health.
No breeding colony has been found in the UK since 1976 when the colony was eradicated.
Potato growers, including gardeners, are urged to inspect their crops for larvae of the Colorado beetle. These are between three and ten millimetres long with black heads and feet, and bodies that range from cherry red to pale orange with small black dots along each side. They move freely and feed on potato foliage, or other solanaceous weeds, defoliating from the leaf margins and leaving oily black excreta. Colorado beetle larvae should not be mistaken for pupae of the ladybird, which are similar in shape and colour but do not move.