Chris Slade describes the son et lumiere presentation at the abbey of Bon Repos called "Le Pays de Conomor" in Brittany, which takes place during the first two weeks of August.
I have planted less potatoes than in previous years partly because last year the Colorado Beetle was so dreadful. Yesterday I put in one row of Pink Fir, two rows of King Edwards and I still have two rows of Maris Piper to plant.
If anyone has a dream cure for Colorado Beetle I’d love to hear it! Too many to squish by hand – a vacuum cleaner might do it but the cable isn’t long enough! Any ideas?
What are Colorado Beetles?
The Colorado Beetle (also known as the Colorado Potatoe Beetle) is a crop pest – both adults and their larvae feed on the foliage. Although principally attacking potato crops, these beetles also cause damage to other crops such as tomatoes and aubergines. They are around 10 mm long, with a bright yellow or orange body and five bold brown stripes.
Colorado Beetles rapidly become tolerant to chemical insecticides, but there are a few natural enemies that can be deployed to control populations (as long as your insecticides don’t kill them off) such as the ground beetle (Lebia grandis) and a pathogenic fungus called Beauveria bassiana (which can be applied via a regular pesticide sprayer).
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Jean. I posted your request for help getting rid of colorado Beetle onto Twitter a few days ago and have so far received the following replies…
“Beauveria bassiana can be used as a biological insecticide to control the Colorado beetle. CB is a notifiable pest in UK.” from Huw Helps
“We had to stop growing all potato family (aubergine tomato too) for years to clear them” from LaRoultiere
and a witty…
“~ check their visas – they might be over-stayers – in which case you can send them back…” from Bob Hayward
I hope you find these useful.
Thank you all for your replies. I will check the visas and spray the rest with Beauveria bassiana or whatever I can find locally. I hope very much that I won’t have to stop growing tomatoes and aubergines. I can do without potatoes but not without ratatouille!