Cruciflo flea

What does a cruciferous flea look like

Cruciferous flea beetles are small bugs from the leaf beetle family, only 2–3 mm long (1). They got their name because of their resemblance to fleas – they also have powerful hind legs, thanks to which they can jump long distances.

There are several types of pest, among themselves they differ in color:

• southern cruciferous flea (Phillotreta atra) – black, with a metallic sheen, there are dots on the head and elytra;
• light-footed flea (Phillotreta nemorum) – dark, with a green tint and a black stripe on the back, paws – yellow;
• notched flea (Phillotreta vittata) – it has a black line on its body with a yellow border and small notches on the elytra;
• wavy flea (Phillotreta undulata) – it has a stripe with a yellow border and a black head on the elytra.

Interesting facts about the cruciferous flea

What is dangerous cruciferous flea

Since cruciferous flea beetles can jump long distances, they occupy a large territory very quickly. This pest is especially dangerous for seedlings of cabbage and seedlings of radishes, turnips and turnips – it can completely destroy them in just a few days. During the period of mass reproduction, from 50 to 200 beetles can be counted on one plant.

But with so many plants, it is almost impossible to save. The threshold of harmfulness for this pest is much lower and it is determined in different stages:

• after planting seedlings – 3 – 5 fleas per plant with 10% damage to plantings;
• when a whorl of leaves is formed – 10 fleas per plant with the defeat of 25% of crops;
• when a head begins to set (phase for cabbage) – 3 – 5 fleas per plant with a lesion of more than 50% (2).

Even with these indicators, it is necessary to immediately declare war on the pest.

By the way, cruciferous fleas are dangerous not only in themselves – they are also provocateurs for the development of fungal diseases, since the infection enters the tissues through wounds. And fleas make many holes in the leaves.

Signs of cruciferous flea

The first sign of cruciferous flea damage to plants is numerous holes on the leaves. In principle, other pests, such as slugs, can also make such holes, but it’s easy to recognize a flea – just go up to the plants, you will hear a distinct sound, as if millet was spilled on the floor – these are fleas jumping.

Causes of cruciferous flea

In nature, cruciferous fleas feed on wild plants of the Cruciferous family – colza, shepherd’s purse, white mustard, wild radish. If they grow near your site – wait for the cruciferous flea.

Also, the pest can get into the garden with infected purchased seedlings or soil, move from neighboring areas.

Fleas are especially active in dry hot weather – in such weather they damage plants the most. On rainy days, they practically do not eat.

Fighting cruciferous flea on cabbage

If the cruciferous flea attacked the cabbage at the time of the formation of heads, it will not be easy to deal with it, because the beetles penetrate under the leaves of the head, and during processing, the preparations simply do not fall on them. Therefore, the struggle can be protracted. But it is required!

Folk methods

Repellent plants. It is useful to plant tomatoes, garlic, marigolds and nasturtium near cruciferous crops – fleas do not like their smell, they prefer to look for beds where there are no odorous plants nearby.

Traps. This is a fairly simple, quite effective, and most importantly, an environmentally friendly way to deal with cruciferous fleas. Its essence is very simple: you need to take a small piece of cardboard, attach it to a rail or stick, grease it with something sticky, for example, grease or resin, and walk through the beds that the pests attacked, waving the trap over the plants – frightened fleas will jump out and stick. You just have to burn the cardboard with insects.

This should be done on a hot sunny day when cruciferous flea beetles are most active. If you repeat this quite often, the fleas will remain a minimum amount.

Preparations

There are several drugs that are designed to combat cruciferous flea.

Batrider. The drug is diluted at the rate of 2 ml per 3 liters of water. Plants are sprayed as fleas appear. Consumption rate – 0,5 – 1 l per bush, depending on the age of the plant. The last treatment should be no later than 20 days before harvest.

Death. This is a soil preparation, it is available in the form of granules. They are applied to the soil when planting seedlings or sowing seeds. There is 30 g in a bag and it is enough for 50 holes if cabbage is planted with seedlings.

Lightning. I use this drug for spraying cabbage. It is diluted at the rate of 50 g per 1 liter. Use as the flea appears. Consumption rate – 200 ml (1 glass) per 10 square meters. m. The last use of the drug should be no later than 30 days before harvesting.

Fighting cruciferous flea on radishes

Radish ripens quickly – this is its advantage over cabbage. In addition, the plants themselves are very compact, so the methods of protection in this case are a little simpler.

Folk methods

Net fabric. All you need to protect radish crops from cruciferous flea is to cover them with non-woven fabric. And firmly press it to the ground – with bricks or boards. In this case, insects will not be able to get to the crops.

But! This option is good, provided that you observe crop rotation. If you sow a radish in the same place where it grew last year, it won’t work, because the pest hibernates in the soil, it will get out to the surface right under the non-woven material and happily pounce on the radish crops.

Preparations

Batrider. It is bred in the same way as for cabbage – 2 ml per 3 liters of water. Sprayed in the same way – as the flea appears. But the consumption rate in this case is different – 3 liters per hundred square meters. On early radish varieties, the drug can be used only at the very beginning of growth, since the waiting period for this remedy is 20 days.

Death. In the case of radishes, this drug is applied when sowing seeds in the grooves. Consumption rate – 20 g per 10 square meters. m.

Prevention of cruciferous flea infection

There are several agrotechnical measures that sometimes help to significantly reduce the number of cruciferous flea.

Loosening. In the spring, when the air warms up to 15 ° C, cruciferous fleas begin mating. The females then lay their eggs in the ground. Soon the larvae will hatch. They tend to live in the soil and feed on roots.

At this time, as a preventive measure, the soil in the aisles of cruciferous vegetables should be loosened as often as possible – some of the larvae will be on the surface and die.

Weeding. After 14-20 days after birth, the larvae pupate. After another 8-14 days, they turn into adult insects that come to the surface and begin to actively feed. And at first they are taken for weeds of the Cruciferous family. And only then they move on to cultivated plants. That is why it is important to weed out the weeds in a timely manner – not finding food, some of the fleas will die.

Digging the site in the fall. Adult individuals overwinter in cruciferous fleas – under plant debris in the upper soil layer (3) at a depth of up to 10 cm. Therefore, in the fall it is important to remove all the tops from the garden and dig the area onto a shovel bayonet without breaking clods. In winter, clods of earth freeze through and the insects die.

The all-rounder. Cruciferous fleas go for wintering in the same place where they ate in the summer – on the beds with cabbage, radish, radish and their relatives. And if the same crops are planted there next year, the fleas will have an excellent food base in the spring.

Therefore, it is important to observe crop rotation – cruciferous crops can be planted in their original place no earlier than after 4 years.

Watering. Cruciferous fleas do not like dampness, and cruciferous crops, on the contrary, are moisture-loving, so they need to be watered often. If the soil is allowed to dry out for a long time, pests will breed with terrible force.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about the fight against cruciferous flea with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Gilyarov M.S., Babaev A.A., Vinberg G.G., Zavarzin G.A. and others. Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary (2nd ed., corrected) // M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1986
2. Polyakov I.Ya. Forecast of the development of pests and diseases of agricultural crops (with a workshop) // L .: “Kolos”, Leningrad branch, 1984 – 318 p.
3. Comp. Tulenkova A.G. Diseases and pests of vegetable crops and measures to combat them (3rd ed., revised and additional) // Moscow, Rosselkhozizdat, 1987 – 206 p.