Potatoes · Symptom guide
Bugs on potato plants
Bugs on potato plants in a garden bed are a look-and-compare job. Cited sheets list Colorado potato beetle as observations, not a ranked or confirmed cause. This page does not diagnose, name a spray, or sell a treatment.
Cited observations are comparisons—not a confirmed diagnosis. Check the cited sources and local requirements before taking action.
Save this bed. See it coming next year.
Your checks stay in the Field Book so next season is not a guess.
Illustrative photograph — not identification proof.
Look
Compare the plant in front of you with the cited notes after Other causes. Chewed leaves alone do not name a cause on this page.
Other causes
Growing notes live on how to grow potatoes. Garden-wide looks live on garden pests. Tomato hornworm is a separate species page — not this crop-pest list.
What the sources say — at a glance
One source per card. Facts are not averaged.
Clemson HGIC 1317 (South Carolina)
Colorado potato beetle named on potato.
Details and limits (2)
Look
Clemson HGIC 1317 (South Carolina) names Colorado potato beetle on potato. Naming on that sheet — not a ranking and not a diagnosis.
Limit
South Carolina HGIC 1317. Naming-on-sheet only.
Maryland Extension (Maryland)
Adults 1/3 in. Larvae brick red. Host potato. Row cover.
Details and limits (6)
Look
Maryland Extension (Maryland): adults 1/3 inch, oval, humpbacked; principally yellow, ten lengthwise black stripes on the wings. Observation — not a diagnosis.
Look
Maryland Extension (Maryland): larvae plump, brick red, humpbacked; black head and legs; two rows of black spots along each side. Observation — not a diagnosis.
Host
Maryland Extension (Maryland): host plants include potato. Host as named — not a ranking.
Look
Maryland Extension (Maryland): larvae and adults feed on leaves. Observation — not a diagnosis.
Method
Maryland Extension (Maryland): use floating row covers. Method — not a prevention promise.
Limit
Maryland Colorado-potato-beetle sheet. Observation, host, and method as named.
Illinois Extension (Illinois)
About 3/8 in. Yellow-white with ten black stripes.
Details and limits (2)
Look
Illinois Extension (Illinois): about 3/8 inch long, wide oval. Wing covers yellow-white with ten black stripes. Observation — not a diagnosis.
Limit
Illinois potato page. Observation only.
UMN Extension (Minnesota)
About 3/8 in. Ten narrow black stripes. Handpicking. Row cover.
Details and limits (3)
Look
UMN Extension (Minnesota): about 3/8 inch long. Yellow-orange prothorax; yellowish-white wing covers with 10 narrow black stripes. Observation — not a diagnosis.
Method
UMN Extension (Minnesota): handpicking in small gardens. Row cover over potato rows. Method — not a prevention promise.
Limit
Minnesota Colorado-potato-beetle page. Observation and method only.
Sources differ
Make it yours
Save the bed in the Field Book so next season is not a guess.
How we know — methodology. Ranges and assertions are cited per source, not blended.