Insect of the Week (July 10) - Cereal Leaf Beetle [caption id="attachment_9795" align="alignright" width="150"] Wheat leaf showing distinct, longitudinal stripes, the most prominent symptom of cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus) infestation. These stripes are produced by the feeding of adult beetles and of larvae. For more information, see CIMMYT's Wheat Doctor Photo credit: CIMMYT.[/caption] This week'sInsect of the Weekis the cereal leaf beetle. Wheat is their preferred host, but they also feed on oats, barley, corn, rye, triticale, reed canarygrass, ryegrass, fescue, wild oats, millet and other grasses. Adults and larvae feed on the leaf tissue of host plants. Yield quality and quantity is decreased if the flag leaf is stripped. It is also interesting to note that larvae carry all of their own fecal waste with them as protection from predators. For more information on the cereal leaf beetle, see ourInsect of the Weekpage.

Insect of the Week (July 10) - Cereal Leaf Beetle

[caption id="attachment_9795" align="alignright" width="150"] Wheat leaf showing distinct, longitudinal stripes, the most prominent symptom of cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus) infestation. These stripes are produced by the feeding of adult beetles and of larvae.
For more information, see CIMMYT's Wheat Doctor Photo credit: CIMMYT.[/caption]

This week'sInsect of the Weekis the cereal leaf beetle. Wheat is their preferred host, but they also feed on oats, barley, corn, rye, triticale, reed canarygrass, ryegrass, fescue, wild oats, millet and other grasses. Adults and larvae feed on the leaf tissue of host plants. Yield quality and quantity is decreased if the flag leaf is stripped. It is also interesting to note that larvae carry all of their own fecal waste with them as protection from predators.

For more information on the cereal leaf beetle, see ourInsect of the Weekpage.