False potato beetle

Leptinotarsa juncta

The false potato beetle is a beetle found primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the United States. Its distribution extends to Ohio and New Jersey. Adult beetles emerge from the soil in the late spring or early summer and begin breeding, and a population may go through one to three generations in a summer.
False Potato Beetle At Greenbury Point This is a picture of a False Potato Beetle at Greenbury Point near Annapolis, Maryland. False potato beetle,Geotagged,Leptinotarsa juncta,Spring,United States

Appearance

''L. juncta'' can be easily confused with its close cousin the Colorado potato beetle, ''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''. While the adult false potato beetle has alternating black and white strips on its back, just like the Colorado potato beetle, one of the white strips in the center of each wing cover is missing and replaced by a light brown strip.

The eggs are slightly larger and fewer are found in a cluster. The hump-backed larva is similar, but with only one row of dark spots on each side. The two species are apparently incapable of crossbreeding. Of the two, only the Colorado potato beetle is a serious pest.
False Potato Beetle Larvae This is a picture of False Potato Beetle Larvae on the South Tract of the Patuxent Research Refuge near Laurel, Maryland. False potato beetle,Geotagged,Leptinotarsa juncta,Summer,United States

Food

The false potato beetle feeds on solanaceous weeds such as horsenettle, ''Solanum carolinense''. It also feeds on other solanaceous plants, such as species of ground cherry or husk tomato, ''Physalis'' spp., and bittersweet, ''Solanum dulcamara'', but no growth and reproduction occurs when feeding on the potato, ''Solanum tuberosum''.

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderColeoptera
FamilyChrysomelidae
GenusLeptinotarsa
SpeciesL. juncta
Photographed in
United States of America