A beetle that jumps like a flea
Flea beetles cost North American producers $300 to $500 million a year in lost production, according to the Canola Council of Canada and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The tiny insects have powerful rear legs that allow them to spring away when disturbed. They feed on plants within the mustard family.
Eight species of the insects are known to have a taste for canola, rapeseed and mustard, but only two, the striped Phyllotreta striolata and black cruciferae, significantly damage prairie crops.
Read Also
VIDEO: Green Lightning and Nytro Ag win sustainability innovation award
Nytro Ag Corp and Green Lightning recieved an innovation award at Ag in Motion 2025 for the Green Lightning Nitrogen Machine, which converts atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-usable form.
The economic effect of the insects varies depending on population density. In cases where infestations are heavy, damage of up to 10 percent occurs, even when pesticides are applied to seed.
The tiny adult bugs, less than 2.5 millimetres long, emerge from overwintering in leaf litter in April and immediately begin feeding on plant seedlings.
Egg laying begins in early to mid-May with larvae emerging later in the month. By mid-June overwintering adults begin to die and new adults emerge in mid-July. Adults feed in August in preparation for winter, when the cycle begins again.
The black crucifer flea beetle is the most widely spread in the Great Plains and Prairies and are the most destructive.
Under cool conditions, such as those experienced this spring, the insects might do less damage early in the season than they would in a warmer year, but plant development is also slowed and the insects will still be present for feeding as the seedlings develop. In cool conditions, the crucifer may be less active than its striped cousin.
The insects enjoy all parts of their host, feeding on cotyledons, leaves, petioles, apical buds, roots, stems and pods.
