{"id":16369,"date":"2026-02-09T17:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/files\/pesticides\/climate-change-and-the-colorado-potato-beetle\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T17:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:47:20","slug":"climate-change-and-the-colorado-potato-beetle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/files\/pesticides\/climate-change-and-the-colorado-potato-beetle\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate change and the Colorado potato beetle"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\" id=\"wpb-content-root\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column width=&rdquo;2\/3&Prime;][vc_column_text css=&rdquo;&rdquo; el_class=&rdquo;introtxt&rdquo; el_id=&rdquo;introtxt&rdquo;]Climate change is making life easier for the Colorado beetle. Milder winters and warmer summers provide greater survival chances and additional generations.<\/p>\n<h6>The implications:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Improved winter survival:<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Colorado <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/potato\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"[vc_row][vc_column width=&quot;2\/3&quot;][vc_column_text el_id=&quot;topentry&quot; el_class=&quot;topentry&quot;]The potato is a plant with underground tubers. The potato is the world's most important food crop after rice, wheat and maize. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&quot;1\/3&quot;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=&quot;.vc_custom_1627122121377{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 3px !important;padding-bottom: 6px !important;padding-left: 3px !important;}&quot;][vc_column offset=&quot;vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm&quot;][vc_column_text css=&quot;.vc_custom_1627123139590{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">potato<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/beetles\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Beetles (Coleoptera) belong to the winged insects, whose front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases (elytra). Except at the poles and in the sea, beetles are found all over the world. There are over 4,200 beetle species in the UK. See: Apple blossom weevil, flea beetle, Common asparagus beetle, asparagus beetle, Beech leaf-miner beetle,&hellip;\" class=\"encyclopedia\">beetles<\/a> hibernate in the soil as adults.<\/li>\n<li>Severe frosts normally kill much of the population.<\/li>\n<li>Softer winters = more surviving beetles in spring<\/li>\n<li>Larger starting population = faster pest build-up<\/li>\n<li>In extremely cold winters, &gt;50% could die in the past. That natural &ldquo;reset moment&rdquo; is becoming rarer.<\/li>\n<li>More generations per year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>Development from egg &rarr; larva &rarr; beetle is temperature dependent<br>\nResulting in hot summers:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>faster development<\/li>\n<li>shorter generation cycle<\/li>\n<li>sometimes an extra generation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the United Kingdom, historically, one generation was usually normal. With prolonged warmth, this can go toward 1.5-2 generations. That sounds modest &ndash; but populations grow exponentially.<\/p>\n<h6><strong>Longer active period<br>\nA longer growing season means:<\/strong><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>earlier from hibernation<\/li>\n<li>longer active in late summer<\/li>\n<li>more time to find food and lay eggs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><em>Result:<\/em> higher pressure on late potato varieties.<\/li>\n<li>A faster resistance buildup<\/li>\n<li>Heat + more generations = faster evolution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><em>This increases the risk of:<\/em><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>insecticide resistance<\/li>\n<li>more difficult to control populations with the complication that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/plantenplagen\/colorado-potato-beetle\/\" target=\"_blank\" title='[vc_row][vc_column width=\"2\/3\"][vc_column_text el_class=\"topentry\"]This black and yellow striped leaf beetle of American origin came to Europe via ships in the 19th century. The beetle is about 10 mm in size and is very harmful. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/3\"][vc_column_text el_id=\"entrytxt\" el_class=\"entrytxt\" css=\".vc_custom_1670494516603{padding-left: 20px !important;}\"]Also known as: Colorado beetle Potato bug[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=\"35\" css=\".vc_custom_1532162142715{background-color: #e6e6e6 !important;}\"][vc_column width=\"1\/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"637\" img_size=\"medium\" add_caption=\"yes\" style=\"vc_box_rounded\"&hellip;' class=\"encyclopedia\">Colorado potato beetle<\/a> is known worldwide as a resistance champion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>Implications for potato cultivation:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>More leaf loss<\/li>\n<li>Larvae devour potato plant leaves at lightning speed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>In case of heavy infestation can:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>photosynthesis falter<\/li>\n<li>tuberization halt<\/li>\n<li>decrease yield by 30-70%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><em>Growers should:<\/em><\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>start checking earlier, young plants are extra vulnerable, so more and earlier checking is needed.<\/li>\n<li>scout more often<\/li>\n<li>keeping an eye on several generations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>Plague becomes less predictable:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>crop protection must be applied more frequently<\/li>\n<li>More generations means additional spraying and higher costs<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/ipm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IPM strategies<\/a> are becoming increasingly important<\/li>\n<li>biological control becomes more important, but also more complex<\/li>\n<li>In the United Kingdom, the Colorado potato beetle was for a long time a local and isolated problem, but that is going to change; local infestations will occur more frequently<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6>Climate change can lead to:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>more structural establishment of the Colorado potato beetle<\/li>\n<li>stable populations<\/li>\n<li>annual returns in the same regions. Especially sandy soils and warmer microclimates are at risk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>What do we expect in the next 5-10 years?<\/h4>\n<h6>Probably:<\/h6>\n<ul>\n<li>more regular outbreaks<\/li>\n<li>stronger summer populations<\/li>\n<li>northward expansion of populations<\/li>\n<li>less natural winter mortality<\/li>\n<li>greater economic impact<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&rdquo;1\/3&Prime;][vc_single_image image=&rdquo;7671&Prime; img_size=&rdquo;large&rdquo; add_caption=&rdquo;yes&rdquo; style=&rdquo;vc_box_rounded&rdquo; onclick=&rdquo;img_link_large&rdquo; css=&rdquo;&rdquo;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; el_class=&#8221;introtxt&#8221; el_id=&#8221;introtxt&#8221;]Climate change is making life easier for the Colorado beetle. Milder winters and warmer summers provide greater survival chances and additional generations. The implications: Improved winter survival: Colorado potato beetles hibernate in the soil as adults. Severe frosts normally kill much of the population. Softer winters = more surviving beetles in &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/files\/pesticides\/climate-change-and-the-colorado-potato-beetle\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Climate change and the Colorado potato beetle&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":9513,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-16369","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16369\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.plantenplagen.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}