Start Date
2-25-1988 10:30 AM
Description
Blister beetles are Iong cylindrical beetles that may be black, gray, yellow and brown striped, black with gray margins on the wing covers or black with a red head. These insects are usually found feeding in clusters on alfalfa. They can cause severe sickness and sometimes death when livestock especially horses eat the live or dead beetles. They are usually not found in alfalfa in mid-July and early August which translates to the third or fourth cutting. Blister beetles (black ones, gray margined ones, and yellow striped ones) were collected in very noticeable numbers in several central Kentucky alfalfa fields this past summer. The most commonly found species is the margined blister beetle. This insect has a black head and body with a gray margin around the wing covers. They range in size from 3/4 to 1 inch. Other species that are also found but do not seem as common include the red-headed blister beetle, the striped blister beetle and the black blister beetle.
When found in alfalfa, blister beetles are usually on the very tops of the plants and most often found feeding on the blossoms. Timely harvest, before "bloom" occurs, is useful in preventing the attraction of these beetles to the field.
Included in
Blister Beetles in Alfalfa
Blister beetles are Iong cylindrical beetles that may be black, gray, yellow and brown striped, black with gray margins on the wing covers or black with a red head. These insects are usually found feeding in clusters on alfalfa. They can cause severe sickness and sometimes death when livestock especially horses eat the live or dead beetles. They are usually not found in alfalfa in mid-July and early August which translates to the third or fourth cutting. Blister beetles (black ones, gray margined ones, and yellow striped ones) were collected in very noticeable numbers in several central Kentucky alfalfa fields this past summer. The most commonly found species is the margined blister beetle. This insect has a black head and body with a gray margin around the wing covers. They range in size from 3/4 to 1 inch. Other species that are also found but do not seem as common include the red-headed blister beetle, the striped blister beetle and the black blister beetle.
When found in alfalfa, blister beetles are usually on the very tops of the plants and most often found feeding on the blossoms. Timely harvest, before "bloom" occurs, is useful in preventing the attraction of these beetles to the field.